Last Saturday the community recognized some of its finest at the Celebration of Excellence.
    The annual Rotary event, sponsored by Canalta, honours the Citizen of the Year and the newly named Dr. Ken Julson Award, for the Most Courteous employee.
    Pat Giffin was named the Citizen of the year for 2015.
    Giffin is branch manager at the Drumheller CIBC  and has volunteered with dozens of community organizations over the years; from FunTeam to Grace Lutheran Church. She has been very involved  at Greentree School and now at DVSS.
    “She has shown a love of people, works hard and always tries to lift the spirits of those around her,” said Jeff Messom in his letter of support for her nomination.
    The Citizen of the Year Award is presented to the individual who has demonstrated years of community involvement and is currently actively involved in the betterment of the Drumheller Community.
    Louise Henrickson was the runnier up.
    The Ken Julson award saw two great candidates nominated, but this year Candace Baxter won the top honour. She works at Drumheller Associated Physicians.
    The recipient of late Ken Julson Most Courteous Employee Award must display helpful and enthusiastic attitude when working with customers and show initiative in going above and beyond the call of duty.
    The runner up was Mr. Ken Briault.  
    The young people of the valley were also celebrated at the annual event as two were presented by Councillor Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk with Town of Drumheller’s Leaders of Tomorrow Award.
    Megan Charmont received the Junior High Award. Many projects have been the focus of fundraising for Megan.  She shows compassion and empathy for others while displaying maturity beyond her years.
    Dara Kendell was the recipient of the High School Award. She is a tireless volunteer and helped host the Alberta Student Leadership Conference in 2014, showing her gift at leadership. She speaks out against bullying, racism and intolerance, making her a great leader.
    Also presented at the Celebration of Excellence was the Badlands Scholarship. The four-year scholarship is granted to an individual enrolled in post secondary and are assessed on academic performance, community involvement, achievement and personal references.
    Laura Jensen received the award. She is registered to attend Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton to pursue a Bachelor of Science in the hopes of entering the profession of optometry.
    The Rotary also presented its newly minted Athlete of the Year Awards to Sam Brown and Carmannah Olbrich.

Two local residents have created a fundraiser to raise money for the Drumheller Community Football Association (DCFA).
    Lee Cawiezel and Ray Kristinson have put together a Stamps Fan Bus to the Calgary Stampeders game on July 18. The $60 cost includes the bus to and from the game as well as the ticket. The fan bus will be family-friendly.
    Kristinson said the bus company and the Calgary Stampeders have been very generous with their prices. After the costs are covered, he said, any remaining money will go to the DCFA.
    “All of the extra money, every cent, is going to the Titans and Terrapins football programs. We aren’t doing this for ourselves, we are doing this so we can all go have a good time and raise some money for the kids in the process.”
    The bus will be leaving the O’Shea’s parking lot at 12 p.m. on July 18 in order to allow for travel time and tailgating for the kickoff at 5 p.m. against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
    Those interested in tickets can contact Cawiezel at 403-436-1395. The cutoff to purchase tickets is June 30 and Kristinson said there are only 55 seats available and over 20 have already been spoken for.
    If this fundraiser goes well, he said, they will be looking to do more in the future.