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Sangudo resident recognized for his volunteerism

Bob Walker receives the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
bob-walker-jubilee-medal
Sangudo's Bob Walker poses with two of his Jubilee Medals he received for his volunteerism in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's reign.

BARRHEAD - Although Bob Walker is humbled and honoured to receive the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, he said the medal really belongs to everyone that volunteers.

The 77-year-old Sangudo resident received the award recently from  Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland MLA Shane Getson.

The medal is a new award created to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s ascension to the thrones of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. About 7,000 Albertans that have made a significant contribution to their communities and the province will receive the award.

"There are so many deserving people out there, with only a relative few that are fortunate to receive a (Platinum Jubilee Medal)," Walker said, adding Getson had told him that his office had received 1,600 nominations alone. "Our communities are built on the shoulders of volunteers. Especially in smaller communities. And although I am grateful that someone chose to select me for this medal and a selection committee deemed I was worthy of this honour, I dedicate it to all those volunteers who give of themselves to make our communities what they are because, without them, they would not function."

It was the third medal for volunteerism he has received in the name of the former monarch. Walker received the Silver Jubilee Medal honouring Elizabeth II's 25th anniversary on the throne in 1977 and the Golden Jubilee Medal, celebrating her 50th year as monarch in 2002.

Walker also noted it is important to remember the efforts of Queen Elizabeth II over her long reign.

"She was a good woman with a very tough job," Walker said. "I am sure she had a lot of problems of her own, but she never let them get in the way of her duty, and she always did her job with grace and dignity. It is important to remember that because (the medals) are not just about honouring us as volunteers, but the Queen."

Walker said the ceremony was very emotional for him, adding the committee did a very thorough recounting of his volunteer history going back to the 1960s, starting when he joined the Whitecourt Fire Department as a volunteer fireman and where he worked his way up through the ranks to fire chief.

However, the incident that sticks out in his mind the most from that time was a house fire in 1979 when he was a captain.

"We went in, and I got caught in this backdraft, and I was thrown outside," Walker said, adding that the same backdraft threw his partner down the stairs losing, causing him to lose his air pack. "I went back in and was able to get him out. He sustained burns to 60 per cent of his body, but he lived."

Walker, for his part, did not come out unscathed either, noting he received burns to the back of his legs and the back of one hand.

It was just one of many close calls Walker experienced while serving with the Whitecourt Fire Department.

He also noted the importance of other volunteers that helped the volunteer firefighters perform their duties.

Walker said that when he was fire chief in the 80s, the department radio system was much to be desired.

"We were on the same system as the municipality, and when we were at a fire, public works would often break in trying to talk to their people, saying they needed gravel somewhere," he said.

However, they would contact a Whitecourt ham at the old "Freddies Inn", and he would relay the message for us.

During the ceremony, Walker said they also noted his time in municipal government, serving on the town councils in Whitecourt and Onoway, and his varied volunteer efforts in youth sports, including coaching football, baseball and soccer and Skate North.

Walker is especially proud of the Skate North program.  Every February Walker and others collect used sporting equipment to give to children in need. Specifically hockey equipment from neighbouring communities. This week the program is entering its 21st year.

"A friend, whom I knew when I was working up north Alberta Gas Trunk Line, invited me to do some hunting and fishing in Artic Red River (now Tsiigehtchic)," he said.

Tsiigehtchic, population 190, is north of the Arctic Circle and is located at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Arctic Red rivers.

"It was summertime, and I was watching a group of young kids play ball, and they just had awful equipment, practically no gloves, broken bats," Walker said.

He then asked his friend what the kids used for hockey equipment, and his friend told him again that they made do with whatever they had on hand.

"That wasn't right. It is winter up there for eight or nine months of the year, and they should have proper hockey equipment," Walker said.

He then made arrangements to collect used hockey equipment in Whitecourt, Mayerthorpe, Sangudo and Onoway, mostly through the thrift shops, and have it shipped to Edmonton and then to small northern communities in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

A local shipping company and Air North donate the cost of shipping the equipment to the communities.

"If they didn't, we wouldn't be able to do this," Walker said, adding the cost of shipping to communities north of the 60th parallel is exorbitant.

"That is one of the reasons why the communities do not bring in the equipment themselves. They just can't afford it, " Walker said. "Especially when you consider a can of Coke is three bucks and a bottle of ketchup is $18. And the equipment we get is really top-notch. It will last a community 15 to 20 years because it keeps getting handed down. Equipment that would have just ended up in the garbage dump."

Another volunteer effort that is near and dear to Walker's heart is the Royal Canadian Legion. Currently, Walker is the service office and chair of the Poppy fund for the Cherhill Legion. A service officer helps veterans solve issues with Veterans Affairs and other government agencies. In addition to the Cherhill branch, Walker has served as a service officer in Whitecourt, Blue Ridge and Onoway.

"I've been a member for years," he said. "My dad was in the (Second World War). The Legion has always been an organization that looks out for our veterans."

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com

 


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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