SUBMITTED PHOTO
Enlarge Image
Riding Mountain Progressive Conservative MLA Leanne Rowat, right, presents a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal to Tracy Gregorash of Minnedosa for her work with neurofibromatosis.
On Sept. 22, Riding Mountain Progressive Conservative MLA Leanne Rowat presented Tracy Gregorash of Minnedosa with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal at the second annual MBNF golf tournament held at the Shilo Golf and Country Club.
Gregorash co-founded the Manitoba Neurofibromatosis Support Group in 2005 and currently serves as its president. The charitable organization provides support for families dealing with neurofibromatosis and raises awareness of the disorder.
TOM RICE RECOGNIZEDFormer Brandon resident Tom Rice, founder and former president and CEO of the Rice Financial Group, has been awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal by the board of directors of the Investment Industry Association of Canada.He was among 38 medal recipients who, during their professional life, made an impactful contribution to the Canadian investment industry in a way that served the investing public and issuers, the financing and trading of securities, the capital market infrastructure for the trade, clearing and settlement of securities and good public policy and effective regulation of markets and the industry.Born and educated in Brandon, Rice has been involved in the real estate and financial services business for more than 35 years, according to a mini-biography on the Rice Financial Group website.He has won many awards, including the Top 50 Businesses in Western Canada (Private Business Classification), Entrepreneur of the Year for Manitoba and contender for the Western Canada Award, Entrepreneurial Excellence, and the Canadian Career Achievement Award.Rice remains an active member of the financial sector and sits on the board of directors for the Brandon University Foundation, Jovian Capital Corporation and the Bank of Canada.An advocate for the rights of consumers, he continues to be a strong voice in co-ordinating industry regulations with the federal government as well as provincial regulatory bodies.Rice was a director for the Lieutenant Governors Youth Corps Program. He continues his contribution to rural and urban charities through Rice Charity Golf and is active in other community service organizations and projects.» Submitted
Rowat also congratulated the other two Diamond Jubilee award winners from her riding — Barbara Cochrane from Russell and the late James Richard Edmundson from Shoal Lake.
"Ms. Cochrane’s musical talent and commitment to the arts has brought the gift of music to so many in our community. Ms. Gregorash is the co-founder of the Manitoba Neurofibromatosis Support Group that helps raise awareness and support for families and individuals living with neurofibromatosis. And from local firefighting to politics to volunteer, Mr. Edmundson has contributed greatly to the community of Shoal Lake and exemplified outstanding leadership," Rowat said in a release.
"I’d like to congratulate these three individuals for their outstanding commitment and dedication to their communities and for winning this prestigious award."
Following are the biography entries for the three winning candidates.
• Barbara Cochrane, Russell
• Field of endeavour: Arts and culture
It would be safe to say that within our community, the song starts with Barb. Nothing is more obvious than when Barb isn’t around or breaks her arm, the music plays a little quieter.
She has been the church pianist, organist and choir director for almost 40 years, to the familiar back at the piano during the community Christmas concert, Barb has been a key player for the development of music in our community. Though never teaching music, her love for music has spread through the community — our children are blessed to have a positive spirit who so dearly loves music. With her smile always intact, rounding children up to stand quietly on stage or gathering a busy bunch of choir members, Barb’s patience and positive attitude enable her to pull us all together in a song. Now her children and grandchildren and her ‘community’ family have reaped the rewards of enjoying music. If every community was blessed with a Barb, our world would be an even more beautifully sounding place. So Barb, thanks for all that you do.
• Tracy Gregorash, Minnedosa
• Field of endeavour: Community service, health care
Tracy co-founded the Manitoba Neurofibromatosis Support Group (MBNF) in 2005 and is the current president of the organization. The group is now a registered charitable organization that works to raise awareness of the disorder and to provide support to families and individuals living with neurofibromatosis.
She has served as NF Canada’s marathon director, running in several marathons in support of the national organization and now co-hosts an annual run locally to continue raising awareness and funds for MBNF.
She has been recognized by the Children’s Tumour Foundation for her fundraising efforts in support of NF research.
She spearheaded the MRI CinemaVision Campaign and, in conjunction with the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, completed the project raising $50,000 for the purchase of equipment to make the procedure much safer and enjoyable for children who need them.
• James Richard Edmundson (Posthumous), Shoal Lake
• Field of endeavour: Community and voluntary service
Richard Edmundson’s family came to Shoal Lake in 1957 and Richard set up his first business. He became involved in the community playing/coaching hockey and baseball; a member of the Lion’s Club for 20 years; worked for the fire department for 25 years (21 as chief); member of the Shoal Lake Historical Society; helped construct and operate the Police and Pioneer Museum; was chair of the Shoal Lake Ambulance board (as well as an attendant); reeve of the Rural Municipality of Shoal Lake from 1984 to 1989 and a member of the Manitoba Municipal Board for 10 years. Richard most recently volunteered as a member of a group of seniors doing repair work on various community buildings, such as our community hall and airport. Even in his 80s, Richard continued to volunteer on various committees. He was a leader in Shoal Lake and was deserving of such a prestigious award.
» Submitted
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition September 29, 2012
Sort by: Newest to Oldest | Oldest to Newest | Most Popular 0 Comments
You can comment on most stories on brandonsun.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.