Honouring Fort Garry’s Jubilee medal recipients

I recently had the pleasure of honouring people who have positively affected Fort Garry by presenting them with a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee medal in a ceremony at the Legislative building. I would like to highlight them here:

• Sue-Ann Campbell is executive director of the Earl Grey Community Club. Sue-Ann helps administer programming year-round for kids of all and is a pillar in Earl Grey and the surrounding communities.

• Mark Cohoe has been executive director at Bike Winnipeg since 2013 and is a champion for active transportation and a leader on this issue citywide. He has helped communities push for 30 km/h speed limits and fights for the expansion of active transportation infrastructure.

• Hugh Penwarden has been an active community member with the Wildwood Park Community Centre for well over a decade. Whether it is volunteering as director of the board, or helping organize their winter carnival or yearly tree planting event, Hugh’s presence is felt everywhere.

• Jenny Gerbasi is a former city councillor who represented Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry. A self-described urbanist, she fought for many issues relevant to Fort Garry in her two decades in public office, including rapid transit.

• Tim Hague founded U-Turn Parkinson’s in 2016, an organization that empowers people living with Parkinson’s through activities such as boxing, yoga and U-Tunes programs, and by continually finding new ways to fight back against this disease.

• Landon Gibson and Ian Scott run the Red River Toy Library, which has run out of Fort Garry United Church for two years. Visitors can borrow toys for children to use and then return for something new. A wonderful barrier free initiative for our community.

• Nick Krawetz is an organizer for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress who has helped bring Ukrainian refugees to Manitoba. He has also been outspoken in his advocacy including, but not limited to, waiving tuition and living costs for Ukrainian students.

• Orysya Petryshyn is a teacher at Sisler High School and is an active member of the Ukrainian community and has been integral in teaching students about Ukrainian history. She also was involved in helping expedite Ukrainian immigration applications when the conflict with Russia began close to a year ago.

These folks are a representation of Fort Garry and a testament to the commitment many people have to our community. I’d like to thank them all for their contributions. As always if you have a question for my office, please reach out at 204-421-4241 or mark.wasyliw@yourmanitoba.ca

Mark Wasyliw
Fort Garry constituency report

Mark Wasyliw is the NDP MLA for Fort Garry.

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