Governor General of Canada
Attn: Director of Honours
The Chancellery of Honours
Rideau Hall
1 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A1
Your Excellency:
It is with great pleasure and pride that I nominate Ms. Joanne
MacDonald to the Order of Canada.
I have known Joanne for 26 years, treasuring both our professional and
personal relationships. It has been a gift to be one of the
many people who have benefited beyond measure from Joanne's gentle
teaching and guidance. She leads with careul deliberation,
respect, dignity and humour.
As an elite athlete, Joanne ranked with the finest in the world,
breaking world records and bringing home dozens of medals.
Her achievements have been empowering, inspiring a sense of
pride and accomplishment for the country.
Joanne is known and respected as a 'doer' - one who will tackle a job
head on and guide energies towards building solutions.
Expelling stereotypes, Joanne actively works towards equality
and equity for all people.
Joanne embodies the spirit of Newfoundland and Labrador. Her
fiery and mischievous eyes portray a woman who has great strength of
character, determination and sense of joy with life itself.
Joanne is passionate and loyal Canadian who is truly admired
and loved throughout her province and country.
Exemplifying the heart and soul of our great country, Joanne MacDonald
is a most deserving candidate to join the Order of Canada.
With kindest regards,
Mary Reid
Nomination
Volunteer
Work and Profile Publications
Letters
of Support
Born
August 16th, 1952 in St. John’s, Joanne was raised in St. Mary’s, St.
Mary’s Bay by foster parents Hilda and John St. Croix. Described as a
‘fairly lively’ child, Joanne attended a one room school, sang in the
school choir, helped with the children at home and spent a great deal
of time in hospital and rehabilitation centres.
In
1973, Joanne became involved in wheelchair sports which had been
introduced to the province the year before. In no time at all, Joanne
became its heart and soul. During her sports career, Joanne was an
elite athlete, a builder and a coach. Competing on national and
international levels, Joanne brought home 61 medals (see attached), as
well as, numerous national and world records. She presented the highest
achievements possible in sport, infusing a sense of pride and
accomplishment across the province.
Joanne
MacDonald, at the age of 26, has reached international achievement
unknown to but a handful of Newfoundlanders. She has those unique
characteristics of which we are all proud ... Her keen spirit and her
overpowered determination to excel at all of her endeavours is a
strength which demands national recognition. Joanne MacDonald has done
for [Wheelchair] Sports what Bobby Hull has done for hockey... through
her achievements [Joanne] has had an unmeasureable effect on the
rehabilitation of [disabled] people throughout the world...
(St. John’s Jaycees successful nomination of
Joanne MacDonald for Five Outstanding Young Canadians Award, 1978)
As
well as her own athletic achievements, Joanne worked tirelessly to
develop wheelchair sports. She held a variety of positions in sports
organizations and was thoroughly committed to raising funds and
supporting other athletics.
Joanne was
regularly sought out for speaking engagements which she willingly
accepted. She met with hundreds of children in dozens of schools
throughout the province, demonstrating her skills and encouraging them
to participate. As a role model, Joanne presented endless possibilities
for all of the youth she met.
After
Joanne retired from competition due to a severe shoulder injury in
1984, she threw herself into community activism. She was and is truly
loved for her accomplishments, her joy, her commitment to community and
her ability to put herself out there (see attached list of awards). To
this day, she continues to promote equality and share her strengths
with the community as a whole.
Joanne strives to shatter prevailing stereotypes about people with disabilities. In an overarching effort to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities, Joanne challenges attitudinal barriers wherever she finds them.
I
ask the larger community not to make judgements based on a persons
disability. If you must judge, then do so based on character, caring,
humanity, friendship, and other personal attributes, but not on any
disability that a person may have. Remember an individual who has a
disability is a person first and foremost.
(Joanne MacDonald: The Finest Kind - Voices of Newfoundland and
Labrador Women. Marion Francis White
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Today,
everywhere she goes, Joanne is recognized, spoken to, stopped on the
street and remembered for her contributions. The innate sense of fair
play and natural justice that Joanne demonstrated on the basketball
court and the track is equally present in her everyday life. It has led
her into community work and it has defined her professional career.
Over the years, Joanne has been an active force on numerous community
and government working groups, committees and boards (see sample list).
Involving herself in community action and advocacy Joanne works to
promote equality for all Canadians.
Joanne
furthered these efforts through her choice of employment; first working
within the rehabilitation field, then within community organizations,
and subsequently within the federal government. Joanne’s work in social
and policy development within the departments of Secretary of State and
Human Resources and Development Canada led her to be awarded the
Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002.
.... you have
distinguished yourself by virtue of your talents and service.
Your service to the public has regularly exceeded the norm...
We count on people like you to be the backbone of our organization
(HRDC)...You have made a real difference for co-workers and clients
alike.
(Award Letter, Cathy Drummond, Regional Executive Head, HRDC,
October 23, 2002)
Joanne
is a passionate and loyal Newfoundlander and Labradorian. Her strength
of character, competitive nature, determined spirit, and abundant joy
with life itself is what this province is all about.
Joanne’s
newest skill is in capturing the joy and wonder of
Newfoundland and Labrador through photography. Through her camera,
Joanne celebrates the beauty and diversity of our wildlife, natural
settings and culture.
Extremely
happy with her sense of place, Joanne is proud of her province. She is
an outstanding citizen of Canada.
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As the first
woman with a disability appointed to the
Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, renowned international elite
wheelchair
athlete, and champanion advocate for all Canadians with disabilities;
Joanne’s
humanitarianism exemplifies the highest qualities of citizenship as she
continues to enrich and guide our work today.
Warmest regards,
Barry Galloway
Executive Director