Sign In Register Former City of Powell River mayor Stewart Alsgard was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal at a ceremony at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 164 last week The award was presented to Alsgard by Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons Tla'amin Nation elder Elsie Paul started the ceremony with a blessing performed by Steven Cramaro and Brooks Secondary School students Former Tla'amin hegus Maynard Harry addressed the room but also stern words to the community and City of Powell River regarding its progressions and regressions toward reconciliation with Tla'amin "I'm here to honour Stewart because he's a role model in this [reconciliation] and we need more people like him to step up," said Harry including former city councillor Aaron Pinch Alsgard took to the podium with some words of his own and addressed the room filled with those who came to honour him "It is not an easy process to weave through the strands of personal history together with an understanding of Canada's colonial history and a commitment to civic duty truth and reconciliation," said Alsgard "I share this recognition with everyone present and those who have worked with me over the years; your support your criticism and your personal counsel move us all forward." The prestigious honour highlights Alsgard’s dedication and significant contributions to the community tenure as past president of Powell River Chamber of Commerce and his role as the founder of Community Futures "It's good to be acknowledged for the work that I've done accepting this reinforces my pledge to be a part of this community and this country and its change for the better," continued Alsgard honoured and privileged to be in your company and share your achievements Let's work together in the spirit of cooperation collaboration and equality to lead and to create unique opportunities for prosperous lives."  A former business owner, Alsgard is perhaps most renowned for creating the Community Accord during his mayoralty which recognized Tla’amin’s right to self-governance and established protocols around culture he read a letter to the audience and Simons "By command of His Majesty the King in right of Canada and upon the order of the lieutenant-governor of the province of British Columbia to announce the recipient of  the King Charles III Coronation Medal," said Alsgard "It is my honour to call forward to present the letter of order and to place the medal upon the person of Nicholas Simons."  Alsgard’s career also includes 28 years of service in the Royal Canadian Navy, retiring as a captain, and his role in Queen Elizabeth II’s security detail in 1977 while attending the National Defence College in Kingston rise to the challenges ahead and don't be afraid," said Alsgard comprising a medal and accompanying certificate is part of the coronation celebrations and represents the highest level of recognition for public service under King Charles III's reign Join the Peak’s email list for the top headlines right in your inbox Monday to Friday Former City of Powell River mayor Stewart Alsgard has been awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal A former business owner, Alsgard is perhaps most renowned for creating the Community Accord during his mayoralty which recognized Tla’amin Nation’s right to self-governance and established protocols around culture He remains a strong advocate for Tla'amin and supports efforts toward reconciliation Alsgard’s career also includes 28 years of service in the Royal Canadian Navy, retiring as a captain, and his role in Queen Elizabeth II’s security detail in 1977 while attending the National Defence College in Kingston The medal will be presented to Alsgard  at 11 am on September 13 The event will include short speeches by invited guests By Rob Vogt Local Press WriterSomeone with a love of children has been named the 2022 Stavely Citizen of the Year.Lorna Alsgard was honoured with the award during the intermission of the Stavely Amateur Rodeo on Saturday exalted ruler of the Stavely Elks who look after the award read out the reasons Alsgard won the award.“As most of you know this award to recognize people who go ‘above and beyond’ to make our community what it is started out back in 1966 as the Danny Flanagan ‘Sportsman of the Year Award.’ About 30 years ago it evolved to be the ‘Citizen of the Year’ and is donated by our Elks Lodge,” Nelson began.“So – the person that was nominated and chosen this year is one that is typically in the background behind the scenes helping out in all sorts of ways.“A long-time member of this community this person has given so much to youth programs by individuals that are constantly working in the background in order to help others enjoy a better life.“Tonight we are recognizing one of those people.”With that Nelson presented the 2022 Stavely Citizen of the Year award to Lorna Alsgard.She then made her way to the microphone to say a few words.“Thank you,” she said “It is totally unexpected.“I do everything I do because I love the c Looking through some photographs today (September 8) and contemplating the death of Queen Elizabeth ll at age 96 an old program fluttered out in front of former Powell River mayor and retired naval officer Stewart Alsgard Joseph’s Parish graduating kindergarten class of 1941 and the final note on the page was the singing of “God Save the King.” It is the anthem that will be sung again now that Great Britain’s longest-serving monarch has died and King Charles III begins his reign Alsgard remembers meeting the Queen in 1977 when he was at the National Defence College in Kingston “It was announced that a special person was arriving in Ottawa and my boss told me to pack up quickly and get to the capital but to take no uniform,” said Alsgard He was told to wear a suit and was given a button for his lapel “It turns out I had a quasi-security role accompanying the Queen and Prince Philip to Dows Lake on the Rideau Canal,” explained Alsgard “They were there as part of her Silver Jubilee tour.” Alsgard said a little girl presented the Queen with a bouquet who no doubt took it home for his wife.” Alsgard remembers an amusing moment during the trophy presentation ceremony when a young boy “The Queen and Prince Philip were quite the ventriloquists who could speak to each other without moving their lips,” chuckled Alsgard “I heard her say ‘What the….?’ And the prince replied Give it to him.’ I think after that the organizers took more care in the type of prizes given out.” Alsgard also met other members of the Royal Family during his military career including Princess Margaret when she attended Butchart Gardens with former BC premier WAC Bennett and Earl Mountbatten of Burma who spoke to a class of officers at the naval fleet school Mountbatten was assassinated in Ireland soon after that meeting Triangle Gardens begins in front of the Patricia Theatre along Marine Avenue and spans 1,000 feet toward Powell River Lawn Bowling Club Both the garden and the lawn bowling club were started and owned by the Powell River Company (original mill site) Located at the entrance way to Historic Townsite and once a nursery for the mill the garden became overgrown with broom and blackberry bushes in the 1990s Dirt,” took over as caretaker after his retirement he started to cultivate and plant flowers in order to make the space an inviting place for people to visit again “His passion for gardening emerged,” said Will Van Delft president of the Townsite Ratepayers Association Davis left a beautiful legacy that is Triangle Gardens Residents of Townsite have a lot of pride in the heritage status of the close-knit neighbourhood who rallied community members together to support building and planning a new path along the garden which now makes it more accessible for pedestrians Former Powell River mayor and coroner Stewart Alsgard was a good friend and sometimes collègue of Davis “He [Davis] came to Powell River as a medical internist and eventually became chief-of-staff at hospital number four,” said Alsgard long before the current facility in Westview “I was the provincial coroner at the time and on occasion we had dealings with each other,” he added Alsgard relayed how much Davis loved Townsite and at that time [1990s] “Townsite was getting a new lease on life.” Fast forward 25 years and Triangle Gardens is overflowing with purple heather there is also a towering arbutus and a 100-year-old Garry oak tree Alsgard mentioned that the Garry oak was transported here by ship in 1912 Van Delft and many others brainstormed with each other about how they could honour Davis The idea of constructing a path to connect the neighbourhood to the garden grew into a reality pretty quickly and it wasn’t hard to convince volunteers to pitch in Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society (now known as qPAWS) members were enthusiastic and broke ground for the path just a few weeks ago “[qPAWS] just carried on from Davis’ original trail,” said Van Delft Although City of Powell River technically owns the property Townsite Heritage Society is in charge of managing the space “We asked the [city] council to see if they could donate a bench,” said Van Delft “Springtime Garden Centre donated a Korean dogwood.” Alsgard was mayor in Powell River for 12 years Davis would regularly visit city hall along with delegations asking for help to get the historic neighbourhood designated a heritage site Townsite became the first and only National Historic District of Canada in Western Canada “As mayor I recognized the importance of the neighbourhood to be recognized as historic,” said Alsgard The former mayor holds a vault of knowledge when it comes to the history of the area and in the past (possibly continuing upon request) he gave walking tours to tourists and anyone who was curious Now instead of admiring the garden from the sidewalk the public can walk through and take in the beauty and hard work Davis put into creating a place of peace and beauty