The community is toasting the good health of good health. You can raise a glass, too.
Nominations are flowing in for the Healthier You Awards, the annual set of trophies that honour the people and projects of our region that are making a difference in healthy living.
The nominations close on Friday, so awards coordinator Norm Coyne is urging people to move quickly to spotlight the strong stories of the community.
"It's super interesting because through the years I've seen it expand," he said. "When we first started it, it was primarily health care focused in the traditional sense of the word but it has evolved into now including fitness and wellness and a broader definition of what health care means, and that all happened organically through the nomination process. The awards still keep that traditional health care core, but it has extended beyond that, and every year we get to see amazing things come to light because people in the community made interesting nominations."
The categories are:
- Health & Wellness Advocate of the Year
- Outstanding Multicultural Contribution
- Health & Wellness Educator of the Year
- Seniors' Initiative of the Year
- Health & Wellness Provider of the Year
- Research Award
- Youth Initiative of the Year
- Health & Wellness Innovator of the Year
- Lifestyle Transformation Award
- First Nations Initiative of the Year
- Technology In Healthcare
- Workplace Wellness Award
The nomination process is free and easy, said Coyne. It involves simply going to the www.healthieryouexpo.ca website and filling out a straightforward online form.
"It will take you 15 or 20 minutes to fill everything out, that's all, it is very easy to understand," Coyne said. "It all goes to a panel for review. We reach out to those who get nominated to make sure they agree to stand for nomination, and then it all leads to a gala evening on April 12 where the winners are revealed."
Coyne said the awards were the creation of local MLA Shirley Bond "who has remained as excited about the awards this year as she was at the beginning, and that's because she is amazed right along with the rest of us at the mind-blowing stories that emerge. Remember, healthcare is a whole sector that doesn't toot its own horn, everything is done person to person, so the only way these stories ever get told is if people step forward to celebrate someone they know or something they know about. And these are world class stories. Some of the work being done in this area is world renowned, or it sure should be, so these awards are so important for letting the community know what's going on right here in our own area."
Coyne urged the public to celebrate the local health, wellness, fitness and nutrition successes, and don't be afraid to think outside the box with whomever you wish to nominate.
Tickets to attend the gala are also on offer through the same website.
