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Quesnel city councillor seeks public’s input on new events to recognize volunteers

City council disbanded the Quesnel Volunteer Citizen of the Year Committee in 2018
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A tree was planted in September in honour of 2017 Quesnel Volunteer Citizen of the Year Louis Beaulieu, front. In attendance to celebrate the event were sponsors and past winners. Heather Norman photo

What’s the best way to celebrate local volunteers? That’s what Coun. Laurey-Anne Roodenburg has been tasked with finding out.

The Quesnel Volunteer Citizen of the Year Committee, which chose the Quesnel Volunteer Citizen of the Year for the last 37 years, was disbanded by the City. It was the City’s primary method of recognizing outstanding volunteers within the community. In 2018, Louis Beaulieu was named the last Quesnel Volunteer Citizen of the Year for 2017.

READ MORE: Louis Beaulieu named Volunteer Citizen of the Year

According to a press release, Quesnel council felt the program failed to honour all volunteers, and excluded youth volunteers, local groups and volunteers who did not want to be recognized over others.

To bridge the gap, City council decided that a broader event would provide a better method to celebrate all volunteers within the community.

“The community of Quesnel is so lucky to have amazing, hard-working volunteers, and our goal is to host an event that is inclusive of all our volunteers,” Roodenburg said in the release.

“I am currently researching how other communities recognize their volunteers and will move forward council’s goal of hosting an event that is unique to our community.”

In the release, the City also thanked the past Quesnel Volunteer Citizen of the Year Committees for their hard work over the years.

Anyone with suggestions for a new event to celebrate local volunteers can e-mail their ideas to Roodenburg at lroodenburg@quesnel.ca.



Heather Norman
Community Reporter
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