2009 AWARD WINNERS
Between Friends Club 2009 AWARDS & AGM BREAKFAST
Between Friends Club staff, volunteers, members, and their families joined us for a wonderful breakfast and morning of recognition for our outstanding personnel in 2009. Thank you to everyone who attended.
We would also like to give Kathryn Johnson a special thank you for her wonderful, inspiring words.
Please see below for a list of our Award winners.
Most Inclusive Organization
Calgary Zoo
Community Partner Award
Southland Transportation
Ambassador of the Year
Carla Natland
Corporate Donor Award
Nexen
Corporate Donor Award
Faraci Design
Family Contribution Award
McArters
Individual Donor Award
Tim & Clara Ulrichsen
Special Thanks
Hi Tech Productions
Clive Rutland Program Leader of the Year
This award is given to the Program Leader who has exemplary leadership qualities and has been employed with Between Friends Club for over one year. This Program Leader has proven that he/she has made an impact on the participants and truly exhibits the Between Friends Club values (FRIENDS). This program leader has proven to have outstanding leadership and commitment to Between Friends Club in 2009.
Matt Mclean: Matt has been with Between Friends Club since the summer of 2006 and has grown one of the staples of our W.E.S.O.A.R Programs. He leads programs such as Laser Tag with Viking and Mold, Youth Super Saturdays and Teen Night Out. Matt has shown that he has true connections with our participants.
At each of his programs, he ensures that every participant feels accepted and valued as part of the group. Matt goes above and beyond making each program an amazing experience for the participants in his group. Matt makes sure that after each session every participant walks away having a memento of their experience from that program, whether it be the honor of having won the ‘Most enthusiastic award’ or taking home a homemade CD with a picture slide show of all their new friends. Matt is a fantastic leader and his participants all love him!
Rookie Program Leader of the Year
This award is given to the Program Leader who has been employed with Between Friends Club for less than one year. This Program Leader has shown that he/she has made great strides in his/her first year with us and continue to exhibit the qualities we are looking for in our leaders: strong leadership, commitment and passion for working with participants.
Laurence Perry: Laurence (a.k.a. The Beat) started with Between Friends Club during the Summer of 2009 and quickly transitioned into a Program Leader role. Laurence's enthusiasm towards programs pushed him to experience every age group.
In the Fall of 2009, Laurence lead one of our Social programs and our Youth Groove and Move. He has been a great mentor to new volunteers and has shown that accepting participants with disabilities did not stop at just the participants. He welcomed a volunteer with a disability and adapted their role with him to make it successful. Laurence’s enthusiasm and motivation has been an asset to Between Friends Club and we are very lucky to have him as part of our team!
Program Volunteer of the Year
This award is given to an outstanding volunteer who has shown committment to the values of Between Friends Club and its participants. He/She has been a great role model for our participants and a great ambassador for Between Friends Club. This volunteer has been a volunteer with our organization for over one year.
Tanya Schile: Tanya has been a loyal volunteer with Between Friends Club since 2006. She has volunteered in every age group and experienced almost every program we have offered our W.E.S.O.A.R! participants.
Tanya is almost always the first to sign up for programs and is great at providing feedback on which programs work. Her experience with us has been allows her to provide fantastic support for new leaders and new volunteers. She has been a positive role model for many of our participants and consistently exceeds expectations session after session.
Rookie Program Volunteer of the Year
This award is given to an outstanding volunteer who has shown commitment to the values of Between Friends Club and its participants. This leader has been a great role model for our participants and a great ambassador of Between Friends Club. He/she has been a volunteer with our organization for under one year.
Ian McGrath: Ian is the older brother of one of our members and has seen firsthand the impact our programs have on our participants. His interest in volunteering for the agency came this summer while he was working as an aide for one of our members. After one session, he contacted Kathleen to begin the volunteer process.
What was scheduled to be a two week volunteering stint turned into four weeks and a day here and there when he was available. Ian was one of the first volunteers to sign up for the Fall Evening and Weekend Programs. He volunteers for Night on the Town Thursday and Friday. Ian balances High School, work and volunteering into his schedule and always manages to attend programs with a positive attitude and energy. It is a pleasure having Ian as part of our team!
Camps Leader of the Year
This award is given to a Camp Leader (Camp Bonaventure, I.C.A.N!, Adventurers or Day Camps) who has gone above and beyond the expectations of a Between Friends Club staff. He/She has provided extraordinary service to Between Friends Club and has exceeded our staff standards. This leader has proven skills and an exemplary dedication to the organization and to its members.
Nicole Land: Named after the music she loves so much; Country is a symbol of strength and enthusiasm at Between Friends Club.
Country joined our team in 2008 as a Coyotes group leader and even though she faced many personal hurdles during the summer of 2009, she completed a second summer at Camp Bonaventure as the Chipmunks Team Leader.
Country is able to extend her strength and expertise to her group leaders and volunteers who all showed improvement while working with her. Although still battling those same hurdles today, Country continues to spread her infectious smile throughout our day camps and special events whenever she is home from her 4th year of Kinesiology & Adapted Phys Ed degree at U of A.
Camp Volunteer of the Year
Awarded to an outstanding Camp volunteer, this volunteer has volunteered for one or more of the following programs: Camp Bonaventure, Adventurers, Special Event Day Camps, and/or I.C.A.N! Camps. This volunteer is a positive role model to our participants and other volunteers. This year’s Camp Volunteer nominees are all Junior Volunteers who have proven to be exemplary volunteers and embraced Between Friends Club values of truly being A FRIEND to our participants.
Connor Johnson: Connor (a.k.a. Bonfire) is the brother to one of our participants and started volunteering with us this past summer (2009). At the initial meeting, Connor’s maturity and desire to help out was apparent right away.
Many of our participants gravitated towards Connor as he is a confident and patient young man. He is very compassionate and genuinely cares about each individual camper. At his young age, he is able to recognize the need of each camper and adapt the type of support and interaction accordingly.
Connor was fantastic at thinking on his feet and improving games/activities and crafts during down time. Connor consistently tries to build our participants’ self confidence through friendship. It truly has been a pleasure having Connor volunteer at Camp!
Hourly Volunteer Winners
Over 75 Volunteer Hours
Jenny Anson, Xinging Chen, Jasmine Fung, Thomas Gibson, Connor Johnson, David Johnstone, Wilson Situ, Mitra Togyani Khorasani, Judy Zhu, Brenda Cherry, Gerry David.
150 - 300 Volunteer Hours
Ian McGrath, Tammy Mitchell, Karen Fisher, Cheryll Dixon, Margaret Harper, Julie Wright.
Over 300 Volunteer Hours
Nexen, Youth Volunteer Corps.