AIRDRIE: Four Airdrie teenagers were honoured and recognized on Dec. 2, when they were presented with Queen's Platinum Jubilee Awards from Banff-Airdrie MP Blake Richards.
The recognition came after the four students of George McDougall High School (three of whom have since graduated) rescued a toddler from the freezing cold on Feb. 17.
The four young women who received the medals on Friday evening included Ceirra Burk, Madison Davy, Lexi Ries, and Kenadee Karpala. (Karpala was not able to attend the presentation). Burk, Day, and Ries are all 2022 graduates of George McDougall, while Karpala is currently in Grade 12.
In February 2022, the four friends were just finishing up their lunch break during a school day when they noticed a young toddler shivering on the corner of the sidewalk by herself near the George McDougall High School parking lot. The child was only wearing boots, a raincoat, a dress, and a soaked diaper.
“She was just sitting in the corner, in the cold – not really dressed for it,” Burk recalled. “We just decided it was good to pick her up and get her out of the cold.”
Burk said the four friends brought the toddler into her car to warm up, and then called 911. Shortly after their call, a child services agent was dispatched to come assist the young girl.
“Apparently a lot of others had seen her on the corner, but didn’t really think too much of it,” Burk said. “A group of boys asked us if we knew her and told us she’d been sitting on the corner for about 20 minutes by herself.”
The four students cared for the toddler by changing her diaper once RCMP arrived on the scene, and shared their lunch with the girl.
According to Burk, she never found out many of the young girl's personal details, though she added she was later informed by first responders that the girl had been reunited with her family.
Nine months later, Burk said she and her three friends were surprised to learn Davy's grandmother had nominated them to receive a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Award. The awards were created this year to celebrate the 70th year of the late Queen Elizabeth’s reign. The medals are representative of the Queen’s lifelong commitment to service, and are distributed by Canadian MPs to deserving members of their constituencies.
MP Blake Richards has already doled out a few of the Diamond Jubilee Awards to Airdrie residents this year. Local recipients have included long-time volunteer Wendy Contant and Michelle Bates, the founder and executive director of the Airdrie Health Foundation.
However, he noted Burk, Ries, Karpala, and Davy are the youngest recipients he's given the accolade to in Airdrie thus far.
“Quite often, these things are given out to someone with a lifetime of service in various volunteer capacities,” he said. “But I think it’s also important we include young people who have done outstanding things as well to encourage them and other young people to give service to their community as well. It’s important to recognize outstanding acts like this.”
Richards added what struck him about the girls' act of selflessness last February was that they all felt it was just a common-sense thing to do, and not worthy of receiving an award.
“I pointed out that I really don’t know if that’s the case,” he said. “I think what they did was outstanding and something maybe not everyone would have stepped forward to do. The fact they saw it as the expectation would be of what anyone would do in that situation speaks more to the character they have.”
Burk said the four friends were all surprised when they learned on Dec. 2 that they'd be receiving the award.
“I didn’t know this award even existed, to be honest, so I was very surprised,” she said.
