Volunteer of the Year Awards

Clifford Mitchell is an inspiring volunteer as he has decades of volunteering experience.

He is very involved with the GP Seniors Reading Theatre as a reading coach, organizing readers, presentation places and audiences. He has a knack for finding the best role for each reader. The group has performed to many audiences including Heritage Lodge, Wild Rose Manor, Pioneer Lodge and many more. The most recent being for the Heritage Village Folktales Tour.

If that is not enough Cliff also volunteers for The Salvation Army Kettle Campaign, Knights of Columbus, and several ministries with his church. He also on the board of North West Alberta Retired Teachers Association.

Cliff has volunteered for Spring Fling, Festival of Trees and even built a playhouse of a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. He is also more than willing to share his carpentry talents with any who ask.

In 2020 Cliff and the Studio 50+ group got “schooled” in new technology. The project being a tribute through film to the late Mary Nuttings book “A Grande Education: One Hundred Schools in the County of Grande Prairie” Cliff has a major role in making this happen.

Age does not slow this gentleman down, so we can’t wait to see what he will do in the future to make our community a better place.

Congratulations Clifford!

Never having met a challenge she didn’t like, Brenda is a wonderful go-to person when a group needs a little extra help. She appreciates how effective teamwork makes a difference; notices when people need extra support and can be relied upon at all times. Her warmth and gentle approach, initiative and collaborative leadership style are always evident in all her activities.

Brenda volunteers with various organizations throughout the community and is also an active Rotarian. Ready and willing to pitch in where ever she is needed her commitment to giving back and fundamental belief in the power of community volunteerism is an inspiration to us all.

We are very pleased to recognize Brenda as an Outstanding Volunteer for 2021.

Congratulations Brenda!

This is a group of dedicated individuals who have come together over the COVID pandemic to make the Sexsmith and Area Food bank bigger and better.

It began with the pandemic and a need to move the existing food bank into a bigger, more accessible location, and to be able to deliver food to families in need, safely and efficiently as well as accept donations and keep the volunteers safe. 

The group of caring individuals came together forming a committee quickly and began making needed hampers for families with easy connections and contactless pickup.  They arranged drop off food drives to keep the bank operating.  They organized and delivered needed COVID hampers to families organized thru the schools, to help those not able to access breakfast programs at the school.  
After the initial COVID restrictions, this group began to form and be recognized as a Society, this group of community members went farther and with the help of the GPRAVO is obtaining their Charity status.

Each Wednesday evening you will find them hard at work filling requests for Hampers and going thru donations…. Then Christmas season comes, and they again stand out –
This enormous project of putting together approximately 160 Christmas hampers, 5 Finning boxes high complete with food for the family and toys for the children all coordinated perfectly.  The amount of volunteer time and coordination that goes into this project alone is worth mention.  Hours and hours of pickups, deliveries and sorting to make these hampers.  A lot of LOVE goes into each one, each family is thought of as individuals as they pick toys for each member of the family.  

This volunteer group has definitely made their mark in our communities.

Congratulations Sexsmith and Area Foodbank!

We would like to express our gratitude to Starbucks # 4838 (Cobblestone) during this difficult time. In the spirit of kindness, and unity, the employees of Starbucks # 4838 reached out to local businesses that remained open during the pandemic. They delivered refreshments to these businesses as a gesture of gratitude.

One of the employees had the idea of doing a “Taking and giving table” Inspirational cards were placed on the table and you could take one to brighten your day, or leave one to brighten someone else’s day
Employees from Starbucks #4838 took the initiative to pick up trash from a couple of parks and fields in their area over the summer.

Thank you to the staff of Starbucks #4838 for everything they do to spread kindness in our city.

Congratulations Starbucks!

Swan City Snowmobile club has nothing but praise for Randy. He maintains the trail systems to keep them safe for all rides, works on the equipment and ensures we are ready for the winter season. He is the parts guy, equipment operator and overall Jack of all trades.

Without his efforts they would not have warm up shelters, out houses, and an organized shop.

His selflessness has been demonstrated over and over with everything he does.

Randy puts in at least 30 hours a week for the club (rumor has it he may be hiding from his wife).
The club appreciate and value him and his efforts which have helped them to get to where they are today.

Congratulations Randy!

Kory created the Grande Prairie Norsemen Football club in 2015 and has been instrumental in its successes and continued ability to bring new players into the game.

His reason for starting Grande Prairie Norseman Football Club was that pre-existing clubs in GP were at total capacity.

With Kory’s enthusiasm for the game and his coaching he helps students develop fundamentally though his primary goal is to instill confidence, respect, friendship, self-worth and pride in his players.

That is admirable and inspiring.

Kory coached pewee in 2010 – 2019 but says the reason he retired from pewee was that his wife demanded that he slow down. (his words)

The community of Grande Prairie is fortunate to have individuals such as Kory Gravengard.

Congratulations Kory!