By Eli J. Ridder

SMILE SUNDAYS

‘Ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things’: Southeast Alberta seniors honoured with gala

Oct 20, 2024 | 10:34 AM

It was the first group in Medicine Hat and area to receive such an honour.

The inaugural Top Seven Over 70 gala honoured those seniors in the southern Alberta region whose passion, innovation and leadership have made a lasting impact.

Among the winners is Martha Munz, who launched the “Adopt a Pond” program in Medicine Hat and Redcliff.

That initiative has inspired over 75 volunteers to visit the areas near ponds, rivers and creeks on a regular basis to give it some love, pick up trash and report invasive species.

There’s also Medicine Hat philanthropist Bill Yuill, who was essential for the creation of the Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, which allows cancer patients to receive life-saving treatments close to home.

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Munz, Yuill and five others were recently honoured in a sold-out October gala at Medalta in the Historic Clay District. The winners were first revealed in early September.  

This is the first year the event has been done outside of Calgary, where it was started in 2017 by oil patch pioneer and philanthropist Jim Gray.

The hopes from the Community Foundation of Southeastern Alberta, who ran the regional effort, are to continue it every second year.

David Andrews, the chair of the committee that chooses the winners from a series of nominees, said the seven seniors are people who go above and beyond.

“These are not extraordinary people; they are ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things,” Andrews said in a statement.

The other winners include photographer Nancy Hanson, artist Deborah Forbes, author Jacob Eckert, sports enthusiast Blair Reid and artisan Wilma Hunter.