The finalists for the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce's Citizen and Group of the Year Awards are a well-rounded group, but they all have one thing in common: they all go above and beyond their work lives to give back to the community.
"As I looked at all of the nominees for both Citizen and Group of the Year, they're all doing it outside of their every day work and they're doing it for the love of it," said Rob Clark, CEO of the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce. "Most of them say that they do it just because they want to do it and they don't want any recognition, but they deserve it."
The three finalists for the Citizen of the Year Award are Joe Gunnis, Lloyd and Lynann Pethick and Cory Olafson.
The finalists for Group of the Year are the 15 Wing Fellowship, Born2Dance, Dance Fitness by Kyra, the Moose Jaw & District Sports Hall of Fame, Moose Jaw Families For Change and Sets4Supper.
The winners will be announced at the Group of the Year and Citizen of the Year Awards will be held at the Heritage Inn at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 24. Tickets are $30 and are available at the Chamber office (88 Saskatchewan St. E.).
"The quantity was down a little bit this year, but the quality was way up," Clark said. "Sets 4 Supper was something amazing and the Sports Hall of Fame has been around for a few years, but it's their first nomination and it's well-deserved for recognizing the history of sports in the community.
"15 Wing Fellowship has been nominated before and Born2Dance were nominated before, but other than that we have some new ones."
The Citizen and Group of the Year Awards recognize significant contributions to Moose Jaw's quality of life, both social and economic, made by private citizens.
The 15 Wing Fellowship is a not-for-profit group that began in 2010 as an extension of the Wing Commander's office to connect the base and the community. They have raised more than $200,000 over the past five years for local groups through their Highway to Heroes car show and Musical Swing concert.
Born2Dance is a faith-based dance group that began in 2012 with 25 students working under teacher Kyleigh Coad and has grown to 300 students and five teachers. Born2Dance offers a wide variety of programs to help achieve their goal of creating an opportunity for all children to take part in dance regardless of their family's financial situation.
Dance Fitness With Kyra have donated more than 1,500 classes in 2018 to groups and individuals who can't afford them. They have also volunteered at and donated money to 38 different local organizations.
The Moose Jaw & District Sports Hall of Fame began in 2015 as a non-profit, volunteer group that looked to honour the area's local sports history. To date they have inducted 24 athletes, builders and teams from 14 different sports.
Moose Jaw Families For Change is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2000 to support individuals of varying abilities. This year they expanded to add a supportive independent living program and added the Kinsmen Inclusion Centre.
Sets4Supper was created by Vanier senior Jenna Meili. Along with students Aimee Dumlao, Allison Grajczyk-Jelinski and Madison DeCorby, they put on two charity volleyball games -- one involving local celebrities and the other a high school all-star game -- which raised $8,315.26 for Riverside Mission.
Gunnis has been a volunteer volleyball coach for a decade and is the co-chair of the 2020 Scotties Tournament of Hearts. He also operates EMJ Marketing and uses his business to also give back to community groups.
The Pethicks have been involved in a number of community organizations -- The Eastern Star, The Masons, Moose Jaw Optimist Club, St. Andrew's and Minto Church and the Salvation Army -- for a number of years.
Olafson has been involved in a number of local initiatives and charities with his time with Kinsmen, including helping found the Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Banquet that has raised more than $1 million over its 27 years to being part of the Moose Jaw Miller Express as a player, then coach, manager and board member since 1988.
CAE Inc. and Golden West Radio are the title sponsors of the awards which will also see the Moose Jaw Heritage Advisory Committee Awards handed out.
