Saturday, May 14th was a beautiful sunny day here in Cumberland. It was one of the first days of the year nice enough to give us all permission to daydream of those long summer days we all crave. This particular Saturday was a very special one, as a selection of Cumberland residents were to be honoured for their great work in our community.
2022 marks the 70th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne. She is Canada’s longest reigning Sovereign and the first ever to celebrate a platinum jubilee.
To mark the historic occasion, our Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester, Dr. Stephen Ellis and his hard-working team organized a special event to be held at the Wentworth Recreation Centre on Highway 4.
On this beautiful day – in between trips back and forth to Ottawa – Dr. Ellis would be spending the afternoon presenting a select few residents with an extremely rare Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Pin.
“We sent out requests within our community for nominations of a resident of Cumberland-Colchester who works hard to contribute meaningful and positive change in your community. The response was overwhelming! Congratulations to all recipients of the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee pin! Your hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed!” said Dr. Ellis proudly.
Friends and family accompanied each of the grateful recipients as they received their personalized name stickers and found a seat in the rec centre. There was a joyous mood among the crowd – partly due to excitement of what was to come, but also because this event felt like a step towards the new normal.
Dr. Ellis took to the podium for his opening remarks and welcomed all those in attendance. In an “off-script” moment, our MP thought it would be a good idea if everyone took to their feet and sang O Canada to kick-off the event. Our National Anthem was sung loudly and proudly, and when it was finished, smiles overtook many glowing faces.
Some of the Cumberland residents honoured on this fine day included: Karen Barclay of Springhill, Peter & Janine Berkelaar of Malagash Point, Peter Blaikie of Pugwash, Leslie Childs of Amherst, Darrell Cole of Amherst, Robert & Jocelyn Dobson of Malagash, Colleen Dowe of Truemanville, Francis (Frankie) Ferdinand of Amherst, Eileen Glennie of Nappan, Robert Hudson of Amherst, George Laird of Springhill, Patricia Maceachern of Little Forks, Ken MacKenzie of Amherst, Patrick Manifold of Amherst, Melissa Margeson of Springhill, Vera Miles of Springhill, Pippa Moss of Amherst, Doug Perry of Wallace, Zella Perry of Wallace, Alejandro Ramirez of Amherst, Justin & Tena Simons of Springhill, Margaret Smith of Amherst, Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin of Amherst and Michael A. Wilson of Amherst.
Each person was presented with a certificate signed by Dr. Ellis with a quote from Her Majesty The Queen that included the crests of every province in our great Nation. But the real star of the day was the stunning pin awarded to each of the recipients (pictured on front page).
The emblem of the Platinum Jubilee created for this occasion by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, features the Royal Cypher (EIIR) as personal symbols representing the Queen. With its seven-sided shape, seven maple leaves and seven pearls, it marks seven decades of service to Canada and embodies the idea of celebration.
Once everyone had received their awards, Dr. Ellis once again asked everyone to rise and join him in song – but this time it was an inspiring rendition of God Save The Queen. We cannot say for certain, but we are quite sure that we were not the only ones in the room who got goosebumps during those special few minutes honouring our Queen.
Looking around the room you could see all the awardees looking fondly at their certificate and new pins, with many of them wasting no time in attaching it to their outfit. When they looked up from the pin placed on their lapel, they were presented with an equally important gift – the look of pride and joy in the eyes of the people they came with.
A sincere thank you to Dr. Stephen Ellis and his team for doing such an amazing job of honouring our hard-working and committed residents of Cumberland County, who were all more than worthy of this special recognition. Credit was given where credit was due, and it was a real pleasure to be in attendance to witness so much joy in a single room here in Cumberland, after two of the toughest years our community has ever faced.
It is special moments like these that live long in our hearts. Recognition is often the only reward our dedicated volunteers and those contributing positively towards our community ever really need. So we would like to take a moment and congratulate each and every one of the Platinum Jubilee recipients and sincerely thank them for their service, their effort and their sacrifices. On behalf of Cumberland – THANK YOU!
Queen Elizabeth II has served the Commonwealth for over 70 years with dignity and grace. Doing any job for 70 years deserves respect, admiration and recognition, so what she has done in her life and during her Reign is nothing short of remarkable and inspiring. This achievement will echo forever in the hallways of history, and we hope our residents of Cumberland will join us in celebrating it on the weekend of June 4th & 5th.
