September 10, 2007
OTTAWA–Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will present the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award to 12 volunteers at a ceremony at La Citadelle on Friday, September 14, 2007, at 3 p.m.
Created in 1996 by the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, the award is presented to individuals and groups whose unpaid, voluntary contributions provide extraordinary help or care to people in the community. Recipients have served over a number of years and normally have not been recognized previously by a national or provincial honour.
The names and citations of the recipients follow.
The award consists of a framed certificate and a lapel pin for everyday wear. The award symbol represents Canadians who selflessly give of their time and energy to others.
Additional information about this award can be found at www.gg.ca/honours/awards/cca/index_e.asp.
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Media informationMarie-Paule ThornRideau Hall Press Office613-993-2569www.gg.ca
Recipients of the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award
Norman Aird
Verdun, Quebec
Roland Babin
Caplan, Quebec
Eleanor Beattie
Montreal, Quebec
Thérèse Bélanger Gauthier
Montreal, Quebec
Marcellin Bernatchez
Montmagny, Quebec
Guy Côté
Beauport, Quebec
Charles Edouard Généreux
Saint-Pie-de-Guire, Quebec
Céline Lemay Massicotte
Cap-Santé, Quebec
Jules Pinard
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Jeanne Tremblay-Thibeault
Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec
Jacqueline Verrette
Montreal, Quebec
René Villemure
Trois-Rivières, Quebec
Citations
Norman Aird, Verdun, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
During the past 20 years, Norman Aird has served on the board of directors of the Quebec Special Olympics. He has been actively involved in coaching mentally disabled athletes and in planning numerous fundraisers, including benefit dinners and the annual golf tournament. He also worked extensively on the fundraising campaign for the Salvation Army and has been a regular volunteer at the LaSalle General Hospital for many years. Dedicated to community service, he continues to assist long-term patients and to bring support and comfort to those in need.
Roland Babin, Caplan, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
There is no taxi service or public transportation available in the village of Caplan, Quebec. Whenever a person needs to get to a hospital, but is unable to drive because of illness, Roland Babin is there to help. For over 25 years, Mr. Babin has been driving ailing residents of Caplan to medical appointments or to the hospital and to communities outside the village. He often drives more than 100 km to accommodate his senior passengers. In addition, Mr. Babin has, for several years, participated in all fundraising activities of the Oeuvre des Terrains de Jeux, and devotes 20 to 30 hours each week working with youth and seniors. An active member of the Caplan Club de l’âge d’or, Mr. Babin continues to serve his community with vigour, energy and dedication.
Eleanor Beattie, Montreal, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
Since 1991, Eleanor Beattie has worked tirelessly on behalf of people afflicted by mental illness. She is the co-founder and first president of L’Abri en Ville and continues to serve as a regular volunteer for this organization, which provides permanent housing and social support to adults suffering from mental disabilities. She has helped create similar programs in other Montreal communities and has also assisted in the publication of a bilingual guide to establishing similar residences across Canada. Since 2000, she has been a board member of AMI-Québec (Action on Mental Illness), helping families to manage the effects of mental illness through education and advocacy.
Thérèse Bélanger Gauthier, Montreal, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
Thérèse Bélanger Gauthier has dedicated 26 compassionate years to patients in the palliative care unit at Montreal’s Notre-Dame hospital. Through the years, she has helped, comforted and supported terminally ill patients and their families with her soothing presence and with infinite respect. Many families have benefited from Ms. Gauthier’s devotion, and she has been a source of inspiration and a model of excellence for every volunteer in the hospital.
Marcellin Bernatchez, Montmagny, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
For 45 years, Marcellin Bernatchez has answered the call to help people in need. For over 27 years, he has worked with many youth organizations in his community, including the Scouts and Girl Guides. His contribution to the Air Cadet movement has made a difference for many young people in Montmagny and beyond. In particular, his fundraising activities have allowed cadets to participate in sports, field exercises and camps. He also served as a warden with the Saint-Thomas de Montmagny parish council and is well known for his commitment to his local church, to the corporation of the Saint-Odilon cemetery and to his community. His handyman skills combined with his generosity and enthusiasm continue to benefit his fellow citizens.
Guy Côté, Beauport, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
For over 40 years, Guy Côté has given much of his time and energy for the betterment of his community. In addition to planning, organizing and hosting activities for the families of Courville for 20 years, he has supported the local Society of Saint Vincent de Paul as well as the Centre social de la Croix-Blanche and the Kinsmen Club, assisting distressed families and seniors. He served as president of the Centre d’action bénévole Aide 23 and remains an active and dependable member, transporting seniors and ailing residents to their medical appointments, delivering meals and raising funds for the Centre.
Charles Edouard Généreux, Saint-Pie-de-Guire, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
A truly generous man, Charles Edouard Généreux is always ready to serve and help others. A farmer by trade, with a passion for music, he has volunteered as church organist for the parish of Saint-Pie-de-Guire since 1944. Over the past 30 years, he has carried out numerous duties for the church, including maintenance, gardening and snow removal. He was president of the local club de l’âge d’or from 1985 to 1997, and he also chaired the board of directors of the regional caisse populaire for 15 years. Rather than enjoying a well-deserved rest in his retirement years, Mr. Généreux continues to give of his time for the benefit of his community.
Céline Lemay Massicotte, Cap-Santé, QuebecGovernor General's Caring Canadian Award
For over 40 years, Céline Lemay Massicotte has assumed all responsibility in organizing blood donor clinics for Héma-Québec. She is quite engaging and possesses a remarkable ability to rally people together, which may explain why she has always been able to recruit the necessary volunteers and encourage people to donate blood. Ms. Lemay Massicotte’s generosity—which also extends to visiting the sick and taking part in activities in her parish—led her to found the Cap-Santé Guides and Jeannettes troop. She also works with the Daughters of Isabella, the Cercle de Fermières and the Canadian Cancer Society, and is always concerned with the happiness and wellness of others.
Jules Pinard, Trois-Rivières, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
Through his civic and community involvement and through the foundation of COPERS, an economic development corporation, Jules Pinard has contributed to the expansion of the Bécancour-Nicolet-Yamaska region, to the success of several local organizations and to job creation. Moreover, as chair of several fundraising campaigns during the 1980s and 1990s, he raised millions of dollars for the Nicolet diocese pastoral services, the Albatros hospice, the United Way, and Camp Notre Dame de la Joie, then a camp for young people with mental disabilities. A dynamic member of the Canadian Legion, a loyal supporter of Héma-Québec, and a born leader, Mr. Pinard has dedicated himself to the development of his community and to the well-being of his fellow Canadians.
Jeanne Tremblay-Thibeault, Baie-Saint-Paul, QuebecGovernor General's Caring Canadian Award
The entire Baie-Saint-Paul community has so benefited from Jeanne Tremblay-Thibeault’s leadership abilities and inexhaustible devotion that she has been lovingly nicknamed “Auntie Jeanne.” Even back in the 1960s, she helped organize the community’s folk festival and today chairs the Théâtre en Fête cultural festival. She was a founding member of the Groupe d’Action des 50 ans et plus de Charlevoix and one of the co-founders of the local Daughters of Isabella circle, with whom she has shared her recipes and her advice. Her commitment and dedication have helped her to break down the solitudes of the elderly and recluse, discreetly help the less fortunate, comfort the sick and act as a source of inspiration for people of all ages in Baie-Saint-Paul.
Jacqueline Verrette, Montreal, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
With unparalleled dedication, Jacqueline Verrette has helped inmates reintegrate into society for the past 26 years. She helps young offenders rebuild their lives and contribute to the community, and serves as an example to them. A volunteer at the Maison du Père and the Accueil Bonneau, institutions that provide services to people who are homeless or who have addictions, she has organized a number of volunteer escort committees and, over the years, has created partnerships between the Correctional Service of Canada and a number of humanitarian organizations. Ms. Verrette has escorted and guided inmates who in turn help hospital and AIDS patients of all ages at the terminal stage of their illness.
René Villemure, Trois-Rivières, QuebecGovernor General’s Caring Canadian Award
René Villemure’s life was changed forever following a mountain-bike accident, which left him a quadriplegic at the age of 17. Through his optimism and determination, he has transformed his ordeal into a humanitarian challenge: helping others and becoming a role model for children. A dedicated athlete, he has organized rallies for Opération Enfant Soleil and travelled 120 km by wheelchair between Repentigny and Trois-Rivières to raise funds on behalf of sick children. With Association Emmanuel, he has counselled adoptive parents of children with physical or mental disabilities. Now a doctoral student, he regularly visits local schools to encourage perseverance and to promote community service and athletics through charity bike races and walkathons.
