On Saturday, April 13, during the annual Volunteer Appreciation Awards banquet, Barrhead residents will get a chance to say thank you to the countless volunteers who give their time and skills.
Barrhead and District Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) development coordinator Ros Rudd, who is one of the organizers of the event, said the committee decided to tweak the awards banquet, which is now entering its 19th year.
The most notable change is the time and venue as it’s moving out of the larger Barrhead Elementary School (BES) gymnasium to the Bethel Pentecostal Church Hall.
The banquet time is now at noon and the doors open at 11 a.m.
“Over the last few years, the number of people coming to the banquet has been dropping, so we really don’t need to have it in such a large venue anymore,” she said, noting in past years the event has rotated between BES and the Agrena.
However, that is when the event was regularly attracting more than 300 people. For the last handful of years, Rudd said that on average, about 250 people attend.
The upside of the decrease, she said, is it allows them to move the event to a cozier venue, and perhaps try some new things.
What hasn’t changed is the $5 price tag.
“We have tried to keep it at that price because we don’t want money to be the reason why someone can’t attend,” she said, noting tickets are available through FCSS.
The other thing that hasn’t changed, is that it is still a place to celebrate and honour volunteerism.
More specifically, to celebrate volunteers that have gone above the call of duty by giving them one of six awards: Volunteer of the Year award, a “Make a Difference” award for a worthy group, a youth award for individuals under the age of 24, a Long-standing Service award for either groups or individuals and the Rosemarie Empey Award for an outstanding individual. Last year the committee added a new award, Herman’s Heroes.
This award is unique in that it is the only award that is not chosen by the committee. Instead, the recipient of the award chooses who they believe is a worthy successor.
Herman’s Heroes is named after Barrhead resident and Korean War veteran Herman Barkemeyer, who volunteered for many years with Barrhead’s Royal Canadian Legion in various capacities, most notably as its service officer.
In addition to the awards and the noon banquet, the committee has arranged for The Northern Hearts: For the Soul musical group to perform. They will take requests from the audience before the festivities begin. They will also perform after the awards, along with winners of the recent Barrhead Rotary Music Festival. Nomination forms are available at the Town and County of Barrhead and the Barrhead Public Library.
