Town and chamber recognize citizen and business contributions at annual awards gala Feb. 8

Posted on February 20, 2025 by Sunny South News

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

The Town of Coaldale and Coaldale and District Chamber of Commerce celebrated the achievements and contributions of citizens and local businesses at the 43 rd annual Awards and Appreciation Banquet, held at the Civic Plaza on Feb. 8.

Coaldale residents, businesses, mayor Jack Van Rijn, councillors and town staff joined the Coaldale and District Chamber of Commerce members for annual gala and fundraiser for the chamber.  

“It’s a chance to give back to the community and recognize those individuals and businesses that have really gone above and beyond to make this community the great place it is to live,” said chamber president Robert Woolf. “Thanks to the Town of Coaldale for all the hard work that they do to help us with this.”    

In addition to awards presentations, the evening also featured a catered meal, a balloon draw and several speeches from Woolf, Town of Coaldale mayor Jack Van Rijn and other honoured guests including MP Rachel Thomas and MLA Grant Hunter.  

More than 200 people packed the civic plaza for the awards gala, that was being held at that location for the third consecutive year. The event recognized local citizens and businesses in several categories including Citizen of the Year, Business of the Year, and Athlete of the Year, among others. 

The chamber, which has about 110 members, also highlighted several new members and recognized special anniversaries for businesses which often include five years, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years and 50 years and over. This year those anniversaries included businesses marking five years, 30 years and 40 years. 

Coaldale mayor Jack Van Rijn praised the award winners for their dedication, hard work and contributions to the community.

“Each nominee should take immense pride in their achievements, as their efforts continue to inspire and uplift those around them,” said Van Rijn. “Tonight, we celebrate not only the winners but also the collective spirit of excellence and dedication that makes our community so remarkable.” 

Coaldale’s Citizen of the Year Doreen Lloyd said although she was a bit overwhelmed with the recognition, she was honoured to be Coaldale’s Citizen of the Year. 

“I do it because I enjoy doing it,” said Lloyd, who has been a lifelong resident. “I was born in this community and I’ve never lived anywhere else so I am totally committed to this community,” she added, noting how great it was to see the town and chamber working together. “It’s amazing. We have the same goals – we want Coaldale to be a better place to live, to work and to play.”   

Sixteen-year-old Abigail Van der Molen a Grade 10 student at Coaldale Christian School said she was excited to be chosen for the Youth Citizen of the Year and pointed out her volunteer work with the Coaldale Summer Games in 2024 and her time playing the piano for residents and workers at the Coaldale hospital as well as her volunteer work at the Coaldale Library helping kids in the summer reading program. 

“I want to continue being active in the community so that Coaldale can be a good place to be,” said Van der Molen. 

Business of the year went to the Coaldale Bakery.  Manager Brenda Vanee has been working at the bakery for 20 years, that is owned by father and son duo, Joe and Tony Tams, and said it was nice to be recognized for their contributions to the community. 

“There’s lots of people that do lots of great things (in Coaldale) so it’s nice to see,” said Vanee, of the community involvement. “It takes a whole team. We’ve gone from 12 employees to over 20. It’s not a one person thing, it’s the whole team (at the bakery) that makes it happen,” Vanee concluded.     

Chamber of Commerce:

Business of the Year

Coaldale Bakery

Customer Service of the Year

Adam Price – Westland Insurance

Citizen of the Year

Doreen Lloyd

Group Citizens of the Year

Coaldale & Regional PAWS

Special Tribute of the Year

Christian Connon

Rehoboth Christian Ministries

Town of Coaldale:

Athlete of the Year

Micheal Barwegen

Recreation Leader of the Year

Nic Voorhorst

Community Artists of the Year

Jheri Cook & Criss Wiebe

Environmental Excellence of the Year

FortisAlberta

Youth Citizen of the Year

Abigail van der Molen