Local Emergency Social Services Director (ESS) director Liz Jones was one of 40 British Columbians being awarded a Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers on behalf of Julie Payette, Governor of Canada, by Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of B.C.
“It was amazing. It really was. The setting is absolutely beautiful. Government house is gorgeous and it made you feel like royalty. It was very special,” says Jones.
The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers recognizes the exceptional volunteer achievements of Canadians from across the country in a wide range of fields.
The recipients had a wide range of interests and Jones said she was looking forward to meeting them.
“It was really nice. Everybody was really appreciative of their own medal and we were greeting each other, you know congratulating people.”
Jones says she met people from Search and Rescue, someone who helped people with PTSD and many people who did taxes for other people.
RELATED: Liz Jones being awarded Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers
“Just such incredible amount of diversity out there.”
There are rules on when you can wear the medal, says Jones.
“Our lieutenant governor thanked our team for everything we did last year and continued to do,” she says. “She asked if she could give me a hug when everything was done so that was special. She didn’t hug everybody,” she laughs.
There were other people that deserved recognition as well, said Jones ahead of the ceremony.
“There’s a lot of people that should be here with me.”
It’s hard to describe and feels both proud and humbled, she said.
“I was very, very surprised. It was something I was not expecting ever and volunteering is something that I’ve always taken very seriously… If you want to make the world a better place, you have to do something about it yourself.”
She’s always volunteered in various degrees since she was 12, she says.
“The culmination I guess here is with the ESS and 2017 and everything that happened there, somebody’s very nicely put my name forward and here we are.”
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