A volunteer from the 15 Wing military community was awarded the Lois Boyle Award by the Friends of the Forces Fellowship at the volunteer and sponsor appreciation night held Oct. 12.
Starla Klinger was taken aback when the surprise announcement was made.
“You don't realize how many things you are involved in until someone reads them out,’’ she said.
She said she volunteers as part of the community and urges military serving at the base to get involved as soon as they arrive, as they don’t usually have that much time before they are transferred out.
Her list of volunteer activities is extensive, engaging the community at Bushell Park with the Moose Jaw community.
She engages with local businesses in Moose Jaw, the Legion, the local Indigenous personnel and CAF members of 15 Wing to promote and participate in community events.
She encouraged community literacy by curating the “Charming Dandelion”, a library that runs at no cost to the community and ensures accessibility to resources where none existed before.
The grand opening of the library on August 14, 2021, which included an activity where military families participated in a “bear hunt”, became a large community function in partnership with the local resource centre and the Wing.
Klinger often responds to the needs of veterans, connecting holiday initiatives to serving members and their families. She works to strengthen family ties by providing approachable, no-cost outings for family activities.
In connection with the Legion Branch 59, she celebrated Veterans’ week by providing the local community with activity bags with materials that introduced “Animals of War”, stickers, poppies and more.
At Christmas, she ran a campaign called “Christmas Cards for Veterans” where she called out to the local community to make and collect handmade cards that were delivered to veterans in the City of Moose Jaw.
She secured funding through the Moose Jaw South West District for Culture, Recreation and Sport Inc., using the grant to purchase Indigenous themed books by Indigenous authors in an effort to break down cultural divide by fostering healthy relationships with the local Indigenous population.
She and her husband Padre Andrew Klinger live in base housing at Bushell Park.
Awarded annually, the Lois Boyle Award recognizes long-time base commander’s administrative assistant Lois Boyle, who worked with the CO on developing the original Snowbird aerial demonstration team and was known as “the mother of the Snowbirds.”
The award was presented by Wing Commanding Officer Col. Jonathon Bouchard and Roy LaBuick, president of the Fellowship.
