OTTAWA (12 January 2012) – This coming February 6th will mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. The occasion will be marked by the allocation of Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals to 60,000 outstanding Canadians who have contributed to the country through their service, contributions and achievements. Each Member of Parliament has been allocated 30 medals for distribution within their ridings and Leon Benoit, Member of Parliament for Vegreville-Wainwright, requests your input in the effort to choose 30 worthy recipients from this constituency.
“I am honoured to have the opportunity to once again participate in the Queen’s Jubilee Medal Program,” said Benoit. “It is an opportunity to pay tribute to those who make our country great.”
Benoit explains that, to be eligible, recipients must:
- be a Canadian citizen, or permanent resident of Canada (although not necessarily residing in Canada at the time of awarding);
- have made a significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada; and
- have been alive on February 6, 2012, the sixtieth anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne.
Benoit plans to contact as many groups and organizations as he can over the next month asking for nominations, but he states it is important to start the process as soon as possible. Once all have been received, a Committee will review the nominations – based on the guidelines provided – and choose 30 recipients.
Nominations (along with the nominator’s full name and a contact number) can be mailed care of: Vegreville-Wainwright Jubilee Medal Selection Committee, P.O. Box 300, Mannville, Alberta, T0B 2W0, as soon as possible. A short statement, or a brief summary of your candidates’ achievements (40 words) must be provided, along with the following information about the nominee*:
- full name
- rank and title
- home address
- telephone number
- short statement explaining the reason for the nomination
- photo (optional)
More information, including nomination forms, will be available here.
“Please take the time to consider who has made a difference in your community, and send in a nomination, or more than one,” urges Benoit. “It is a wonderful opportunity to honour those among us whose efforts make, or have made, our province and our country stronger.”
* NOTE: The medal is to be awarded to individuals only, no group or couple nominations will be accepted.
