Volunteer of the Year Awards - Grande Prairie Volunteer Services Bureau

2017 Volunteer & Corporate Volunteer of the Year Awards

2017 Award Winners On December 5th 2017, residents of Grande Prairie and Area attended the International Volunteer Day Celebration Breakfast to show appreciation to the volunteers in our community and around the world. The Grande Prairie Volunteer Service Bureau and sponsors presented the Volunteer of the Year Award, the Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award and the Outstanding Member of the Community Awards.

This year’s recipients are:

The 2017 Volunteer of the Year – Dawn Torrance

Dawn Torrance was nominated by the Society for Support to Pregnant & Parenting Teens. Sacha Balaski, Volunteer Coordinator at Pregnant & Parenting Teen nominated Dawn because, “we cannot think of a more deserving person that is so selfless and kind, Dawne deserves to be recognized in a grand way for her hard work and dedication.” The Volunteer of the Year Award is Sponsored by Servus Credit Union & presented by Servus Credit Union representative Sue Luken

The 2017 Corporate Volunteer of the Year – Swiss Chalet (award accepted by Justin Sutherland)

The local Swiss Chalet is owned and operated by the Sutherland Family was nominated by the St. Lawrence Centre. The restaurant is committed to more than serving fresh food as they do their best to help the community as well. For the past 5 years, Swiss Chalet has served a free Christmas Dinner to members of the community who are unable to provide for themselves or their families and/or individuals that are away from family during the holiday season. They also host Music Mondays helping Non Profits fundraise while local talent perform for customers, have a Teams Rewards program helping local youth organizations, encourage employees to help the community by volunteering and more. The Corporate Volunteer of the Year Award is Sponsored by the Prairie Mall & presented by Prairie Mall representative Kristin Hurtubise.

Evelyn Helmrich was also recognized as an Outstanding Member of the Community but was unable to attend the breakfast. Evelyn was nominated by the Community Village.

The GPVSB would like to congratulate this year's award winners, thank everyone who attended to celebrate International Volunteer Day with us and a special thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this annual event. For More on the International Volunteer Day Celebration Breakfast Click Here.