Nominations needed for Langdon’s top volunteers

The Langdon Community Collaborative wants to pay back the love they feel from their volunteers, but they need to know who deserves it most.
Nominations are now open for the Langdon Volunteer of the Year awards, with everyone from the community being encouraged to put forth some names of people who went above and beyond while donating their time and energy this past year.
This is the second year the LCC has recognized one adult and one child volunteer, but this year the award will be handed out during a ceremony at the annual Langdon Days festival, which runs from July 21-23.
“One of the things we recognized last year was we had incredible volunteers in our community,” said Lisa Baker, a member of the communications committee with the LCC and a past facilitator. 
“There was some amazing events what wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have those volunteers. As we all know volunteer work can be thankless. You have to go through a lot of barriers. We wanted to come up with a way to say thank you and to acknowledge all the hours and time those volunteers put in.”
To participate, all anyone nominating a volunteer needs to do is fill out a form on the Langdon Community Association website, goodlucktown.ca. The nominator will have to explain which organizations the volunteer put in time with, why they are a leader and what makes you want to nominate them.
The judging panel, which will be made up of a group of five community leaders, is also looking to see how the contributions align with the LCC’s vision to “work together promoting a healthy community through multiuse facilities and programs, assisting diverse groups of all ages and abilities.”
The LCC expects there will be plenty of quality candidates for the awards, which went to Chrissy Craig (adult) And Catherine Golden (youth) last year.
“Picking it can be quite hard,” Baker said. “You are comparing two people that are both generating so much time. How do you honour one over the other? 
“Sometimes it comes down one had a couple of extra nominations. One individual might have been nominated several times. You don’t know who nominated them because it’s an anonymous process.”
Baker herself is an avid volunteer and she says while this is meant to recognize those who devote time and energy and put it into the Langdon spirit, participating itself can be reward enough.
“Me and my husband have only been living in Langdon since November of 2014,” Baker said. “We are involved in so many organizations and we’ve made so many amazing friends because of it. 
“I always like to tell people when you volunteer you end up getting way more out of it than you put into it.
“There’s so many things that make you feel that way, such as knowing you are helping the community grow … to meeting individuals and feeling more connected to the place you live. All of those are the intangible benefits you get from volunteering.”
If anyone is inspired to volunteer, there are plenty of opportunities available this summer, especially at the upcoming Langdon Days. 
“We just don’t have enough volunteers for that yet,” Baker said. “If anyone is looking to volunteer, all they have to do is contact the Langdon Community Association or the LCC. We can match them up with an opportunity that bests suits their interests or skills.”