This community continues to impress me.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the annual Barrhead &District Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and awards, and it was inspiring to see so many of my fellow residents either nominated, or formally recognized for their dedication and commitment to the betterment of our community.
The Midget Steelers and the Rotary Interact Youth, both nominated for the ‘Making A Difference Group Award’, stand out for me because of the lengths they have gone to in their own separate ways, to make a difference.
That isn’t to say the others don’t deserve mention, quite the contrary.
I will get to them, I promise.
The lads that play on the Steelers hockey team, while amusing this reporter with their hard-hitting and impressive rink presence, have shown repeatedly that there is more to them than sweat, testosterone and skates.
If you’ve any doubt, why not find honourary team member Steve Bala and ask him his opinion? The women who are part of the Rotary Interact Youth have surely earned their angel wings, because anyone who travels to another country to volunteer their time and effort to help people, like these women did by planting orchard trees in Haiti, deserve them.
Rylyn Laing, honoured with the youth service award, and Adelheid Semler, honoured with the long-service award, are both incredible people whom others should be looking up to, and like all of this year’s nominees, these two women go above and beyond the call of duty.
However, it wasn’t the iterated lists of organizations, programs and initiatives the people honoured with awards that night that impressed me as much as it was the fact that respect was given.
Wayne Reay, the recipient of the Rosemary Empey Volunteer of the Year award, made the entire room light up with the smile on his face when he won.
You could see it in his eyes.
To know this fine, upstanding individual is also training to volunteer more of his time with the Barrhead Fire Department is heartwarming. It means, to me, that this community really cares about the people in it and shows that no matter who you are, no one will turn a blind eye. I admire Reay.
If only everyone were that courageous.
Congratulations to all of the nominees and award-winners.
Like County of Barrhead reeve Bill Lee said, what you do makes a difference.
