Voting Opens Today!
Vote for your unsung hero in our community for the Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award today.
Come back and vote for the winner daily from Oct 7 – Oct 18, 2024!
Lawney Donaldson Community Award Proudly Sponsored by: Tandem X Visuals
Lawney Donaldson may not be a household name to you – unless you’re one of his six Little Brothers and their families. For more than forty years, Lawney was selflessly committed to helping children reach their potential by simply just being there for them. The impact of Lawney’s legacy is not best measured in dollars and cents, but rather in the strengthened social fabric of our community. Six young children transforming into confident, concerned, and motivated young men is a remarkable thing and our community is immeasurably better because of it. People like Lawney are the unsung heroes of our community. They do what they do for their community not because they have to, but because they can. This annual award will forever recognize an individual, or company that is equally committed to quietly building a better community for all of us.
Vote for your Nominee!
- Brad Munchinsky Brad has been working at Rainbow Youth Center for years. When he's here he lightens the mood, he's helpful and good with the youth. He helps them with homework, learning some new skills when he runs the Wednesday night programs, and makes others feel included and important.
- Adam Hicks Adam's entire life is devoted to his community. Whether it be his ambitious home reno projects at a young age to help families in need, sitting as a School Board Trustee, bringing Summer Bash events to thousands of people, or helping the charitable sector grow. He's a true community builder.
- Jada Yee Jada Yee deserves the Community Builder Award for his tireless efforts mentoring youth and inspiring them to dream big. Through his leadership and dedication, he helps young people set and achieve their goals, supporting a culture of empowerment, resilience, and success within the community.
- Bryann Seib (Olenick) Bryann is always quietly putting her heart into every community she's involved in. Currently she works for the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and she travels all around listening to people's stories and preserving their memories. Recently she even came to Saskatoon to talk with the owner of the Saskatoon Skateboard Museum and to try and troubleshoot ways to keep it open, despite knowing the museum couldn't take it on. She went completely out of her way to meet in person and to offer any advice she could instead of just sending a "Sorry, can't help you." email. I know from experience that she doesn't naturally find it easy to lead, but she and her husband both signed on to volunteer with youth in their community. Bryann spoke to me at length about how excited she was to volunteer and teach art classes to youth, despite her anxiety around being in charge. I just admire the ways she supports her friends and family to continue to serve others, so even when she isn't directly interacting, she's still impacting people beyond her circle of influence. I love and admire her very much.
- Ian Moats Ian goes out of his way to help support the mental health unit as well as a few other units by supplying them with non budgeted items. These things include hygiene items, arts/craft supplies, electronics, a popcorn machine and varies other things to keep the patients in these units busy. He also delivers flowers every 2 friday to the mental health unit. He does all of this by hosting his annual Christmas light display in his yard where donations are encouraged to support the unit throughout the year.
Web Sponsor: StratLab Marketing
2023 Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award – MJ Deans Beynham
MJ Deans Beynham has been a support for children, youth, and families in the North Central community. Known for her compassion and listening ear, her kindness has left a lasting mark on the people she encounters. MJ doesn’t just give her time—she gives her heart. We are so grateful for MJ’s contributions to our community and excited to acknowledge the various ways she embodies the spirit of the Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award.
2021 Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award – Talitha McCloskey and Skylar Gerard
Skylar Gerard and Talitha McCloskey, along with their mothers, Gwen Keith + Dr. Marlene Smadu, founded RaiseHER Community in the spring of 2019. RaiseHER Community is a for-impact movement where all profits are reinvested back into the business to enable continuous empowerment activities. The movement brings together people who are passionate about supporting other women to become leaders in our community. The mission of RaiseHER Community is to unleash the leadership potential of women through meaningful connections, professional growth opportunities and inspiring experiences.
A BIG thank you to Talitha and Skylar for their dedication to connecting, celebrating and serving our community.
2020 Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award – Heidi Vogel
Heidi has been a Big Sister to Kia since 2016 and in that same year she facilitated her first Go Girls Group. Since then she has been the mentor for 13 Go Girls Groups and mentored 92 young people!! In 2019, Heidi became Elijah’s Big Sister too.
During the pandemic Heidi has shown us exactly why she is worthy of this award – not only did she find creative and meaningful ways to stay connected to Kia and Elijah, she facilitated our first ever Virtual Go Girls Group and our first Socially Distant Go Girls Group. Along with mentoring young people, she has also mentored new Go Girls mentors. What Heidi has to say about her time as a mentor: “My favorite part about being a mentor is the genuine connections I have made, the heartfelt conversations, and the great times we have together! Watching them grow, and being able to support them in any way I can is what keeps me committed. I absolutely cherish the kids I mentor and I feel very grateful to have them as a part of my life”.
Heidi is a selfless and giving individual and we are grateful for her everyday. Please join us in thanking Heidi for her long standing and meaningful contribution to the next generation.
2019 Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award – Mo Bundon
Mo Bundon was presented with the 2019 Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award at our 31st Annual Business Dinner. Mo is the type of person who is always willing to give, always there to help, and committed to creating a stronger future for our community. He does this, not because he wants to be recognized for it, but because he knows it’s the right thing to do. We greatly appreciate the work that Mo Bundon, and the people he influences around him, do for our community.
Please help us thank Mo for his commitment to our community.
2018 Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award – Jason Drummond
Jason Drummond was presented with the 2018 Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award at our 30th Annual Business Dinner on Friday, October 12, 2018. Jason, a very successful entrepreneur and investor has a long standing history of philanthropy -both professionally and personally. He is has been committed to building both business and community right here in Regina.
“One of the most inspiring parts of Lawney’s story is how pure it is – Lawney never did anything for recognition or to advance himself – he simply saw a need, found his passion, and made time to serve others. Jason is very similar in my view – he’s involved in so many community efforts, both giving of his time and expertise and also financially, and you’d really never know it unless you got to see it first hand. He is one of a group of people that work tirelessly behind the scenes to make this a better place to live – and we wanted to celebrate that” Jeffrey Boutilier, President & Chief Strategist of Ascent Strategy -sponsor of the Lawney Donaldson Community Builder Award.
You can also witness Jason’s community values in the businesses he has had a hand in building – from the Leo’s group to the Regina Pats, his business interests have made giving back to the community a major part of their culture.
Please help us thank Jason for his dedication to our community and congratulate him on being the inaugural recipient of this auspicious award.