Three residents were celebrated for their dedication to the community on Canada Day.
The Town of Stratford honoured Rudi Terstege, Maggie Stokes and Doug Murray with this year’s volunteer of the year awards.
Awards are presented annually to residents who display a strong leadership role in improving the lives of Stratford residents and the overall community.
Mayor Steve Ogden said the town was pleased to recognize the contributions of all three.
“Volunteers are the backbone of our community and we are all better served because of them,” said Ogden.
Terstege received the Gail and Neil MacDonald Volunteer of the Year Award. He is a soccer and basketball coach who served as the president and executive member of the Stratford Minor Basketball Association for more than 10 years and continues to assist the association with its social media.
He has also sat on Basketball P.E.I.’s executive and is currently president of the Stratford Soccer Club.
Stokes received the Stephen J. MacQuaid Memorial Youth Volunteer of the Year Award. She has been an active member of the Stratford Youth Centre since 2011, where she was the recipient of the centre’s own volunteer award for three years in a row.
Stokes has been a member of the Stratford Youth Council since 2015, is a former member of the Youth Can-Do executive committee and volunteered on the Stratford skatepark project committee. Through those various groups, she has contributed more than 500 hours of volunteer service to Stratford and has been involved in numerous projects.
Murray received the MacDougall-MacIntyre Senior Volunteer of the Year Award at his home. He currently chairs the Stratford active transportation sub-committee, which he has been a member for more than 20 years. He was instrumental in the installation of nesting structures for barn swallows and the viewing platform at Fullerton’s Creek Conservation Park.
Murray has also been involved with Island Trails, the Canadian Heritage River Association and was the P.E.I. representative for the Trans-Canada Trail. In 2016, he was awarded the Governor General Sovereign Medal for Volunteers Award.
The Stratford awards are presented annually on Canada Day. Calls for nomination are open every winter and more information can be found at Townofstratford.ca or by calling 902-569-1995.
