While Gareth Jones had his eyes on the prize Monday, everyone else in the room was seeing stars.
Jones – the venerable former city councillor who is as well known for the charismatic lilt in his voice as he is for his great love of rugby – took a few rare free hours out of his busy schedule to be one of the six honoured guests at the Crowne Plaza Chateau Lacombe Hotel for the 2011 Stars of Alberta Volunteer Awards. The annual event is held on or close to Dec. 5 in order to celebrate International Volunteer Day. Jones was one of two recipients in the seniors’ category.
“I believe that volunteerism … is an integral element of the fabric of our society,” he said in an interview before the ceremony. “Volunteerism is really unique. You can’t be an island. You’ve got to help people.”
Jones’ list of volunteer activities include arts and culture, human services, fundraising, and sports and recreation. He is currently on the board of the St. Albert Senior Citizens’ Club and is the director of the protocol and ambassadors program for the upcoming 2012 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games to be held in St. Albert in February.
Jones formerly held positions as a board member of the Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation, protocol director for the 2009 Special Olympics Provincial Summer Games and venue organizing chair of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2006. He was a founding board member of the St. Albert Housing Society, vice-chairperson of the Lieutenant Governor’s Distinguished Arts Awards Gala held in the spring, event chair of last fall’s Six Mayors Toast, and volunteer ambassador and member of the torch relay team for the St. Albert 2011 Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games. He also volunteered with the Run Wild Marathon held in May and was the organizing chair for the Freedom of the City ceremony in the summer that was held to pay tribute to the Lord Strathcona’s Horse regiment.
He has also founded numerous programs over the years, including St. Albert Victim Services, the St. Albert Bingo Association, and of course, the St. Albert Rugby Football Club. It might come as a shock to some to learn that Canada has a national centre of excellence program in rugby — Gareth Jones was behind that one too.
According to his nominator, Pat Phelan, Jones has volunteered approximately 100 hours every month for the last year.
“As I looked at the work, and the diversity of the work, that he did, I thought, ‘This man has got to be a winner’,” stated the director of volunteer centre services with the Community Information and Volunteer Centre (CIVC), explaining her rationale for choosing Jones out of the many exemplary volunteers that she deals with regularly.
She added that she was further compelled to nominate him in mid-September after reading in the St. Albert Gazette that no one from this city had ever won the prestigious honour.
“We have many, many stars in our community. That’s what got me going,” she said.
The annual awards program began in 2000. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Community Services (formerly Community Spirit) and it is considered to play a key role in the provincial government’s commitment to bolstering its volunteer sector.
The awards are meant to recognize extraordinary Albertans whose volunteer efforts have contributed to the well-being of their community and fellow community members. In order to qualify for the award, Jones and his fellow winners first had to meet several criteria. All nominees must exemplify the spirit of community service; demonstrate exemplary initiative, leadership, and creativity in his/her service to others; serve as a role model for others in his/her community; inspire others to engage in volunteer service; and improve the overall quality of life of fellow Albertans and community as a whole.
Joining Jones as a recipient in this year’s seniors’ category is Clem Kuelker. Jamil Jivraj and Stephen McPhee won in the youth category, and Daryl Bonar and Lynda Jonson in the adult category.
