Ladysmith council recently recognized five residents who have been helping their neighbours in extraordinary ways.
Stewart and Maria North, Don Gilson, and Nick and Nadine Epp-Evans received Good Neighbour Awards May 21 after being nominated by their friends and neighbours.
“Council has been recognizing people have truly gone above and beyond their duties for their neighbourhoods for many years,” Deputy Mayor Jillian Dashwood said as she presented the awards. “There are many people in our community who are dedicated to looking after their friends and neighbours, and I think that is part of what Ladysmith is all about and one of the reasons we want to live here.”
Council started recognizing people who helped their neighbours with snow removal in 2006-07 through the Snow Busters program. In 2008, the program became the Snow Angels to recognize that the recipients were doing more than snow removal, explained Dashwood.
“In 2010, we received a letter nominating someone for a Snow Angels award saying this person wasn’t just an angel in winter but all year round,” she said. “That prompted council to change the scope of the program to recognize individuals whose year-round help is greatly appreciated by their neighbours.”
Each year, council draws names from all the nominations to determine the five recipients. In seven years, there have been more than 150 nominations, said Dashwood.