Several High Prairie and area residents received Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medals on Feb. 4 at a ceremony at the Northern Star Hotel in Slave Lake.
Lesser Slave Lake MLA Pat Rehn presented the medals. Attending with Rehn was Alberta Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen.
High Prairie recipients included Linda Cox, Sharon Cox, Robert George Keay, Ken Matthews and Barry Sharkawi. Allan Koski from Sucker Creek and Jeff Burgar from Joussard also received medals. Following is only a brief outline of reasons for the medals:
Burgar received a medal for his work on High Prairie town council and High Prairie Chamber of Commerce, now the High Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce. He was also a charter member of the High Prairie Lions.
Linda Cox was a former mayor of High Prairie and former long-time member, including chair of the High Prairie Community Beautification Association, which is known for holding High Prairie Light-Up each year, and current High Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce director.
Sharon Cox is a long-time member of Marigold Enterprises and was former chair of Keeweetinok Lakes Regional Health Authority, the board that supervised health care in the region. She is also a current chamber director.
Robert George Keay is also a former mayor High Prairie, but probably best known for his tireless efforts in landing the new hospital in High Prairie and promotion of better health care for residents.
Allan Koski is fire chief of the Sucker Creek Fire Department and an avid promotor of the Indigenous lifestyle. Sucker Creek Chief Roderick Wilier attended the presentation in support of Koski.
Ken Matthews was a councillor and reeve of the M.D. of Big Lakes, and Big Lakes County. In addition to many duties and accomplishments on council, he was also involved with the High Prairie Regals.
Barry Sharkawi is a former Town of High Prairie councillor and current chamber of Commerce president. He was also recognized by Alberta Health Services for his efforts in securing the new hospital in High Prairie and demolition of the old hospital. He also played a role in having Tolko reopen and is current president of the Regals.
The medals were created by the Government of Alberta last year (7,000 of them) to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the queen’s accession to the throne. The medals are awarded to recognize contributions made by Canadians from a broad spectrum of society, according to alberta.ca
Other recipients locally included: Barb Courtorielle, Shawn Gramlich, Lee Tanghe, Surinderjit (Bobby) Minhas, and Murray Broadhead from Slave Lake; Sheila Willis and Charlette Biggs Fleming (posthumous) from Smith; Nancy Spencer-Poitras and Gerald Rathbone from Wabasca; Pearl Auger from Atikameg; Linda Noskiye from Peerless Lake, and Tom Wanyandie from Grande Cache.