For Parkland Ambulance’s Lyle Karasiuk, Thursday’s awards presentation was a long time coming.
Karasiuk was in Regina along with three other Parkland Ambulance paramedics to receive awards from Lieutenant Governor Vaughn Solomon Schofield.
While the three paramedics were receiving awards for their contributions as staff members of Parkland Ambulance, Karasiuk was finally receiving the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers, a national honour usually awarded by the Governor General.
Karasiuk was announced as a recipient last August, but as the Governor General has not been in Saskatchewan since then, Karasiuk never received his award.
That changed on June 1.
Karasiuk was emotional as he came up to receive his medal.
“I knew (the award) was coming, but I wasn’t expecting her honour (Schofield) to be so gracious in her statement and so appreciative of my work,” he said.
Karasiuk just expected a medal. The award contained much more.
“It comes with this leather-bound, hand-signed certificate, and there was another complimentary letter from his excellency the Governor General. It was kind of neat,” Karasiuk said.
“It was really rice to receive the honour, and to have had her honour do it in Regina in front of a group of friends and colleagues. It was a really special occasion.”
Karasiuk wasn’t the only one who left feeling good.
For more on this story, please see the June 3 print or e-edition of the Daily Herald
