Meritorious service awards by G-G.

Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, presented Meritorious Service Decorations at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Friday, April 28, 2006 at 10:30 a.m.

The civil division recognizes individuals who have performed an exceptional deed or an activity that has brought honour to their community or to Canada.

The following were awarded the Meritorious Service Cross (MSC) or the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM):

* Peter S. Storms M.S.C., Aurora, ON, for his strategic and project management expertise to the development and hands-on implementation of core public safety policies affecting youth at risk in Canada, and in highly sensitive areas internationally;

* Margaret Anderson, M.S.M., Oakville, ON, founder of the Ian Anderson House in Oakville, the first free-standing in-residence cancer hospice in ON to provide quality end-of-life care for residents and support for their families;

* Mary Bales, M.S.M, Kitchener, ON, founder of Heartwood Place, an organization dedicated to the conversion of old and underutilized commercial buildings into affordable homes;

* John Russell Campbell, M.S.M, Toronto, founded and became President of the Oasis Addiction Recovery Society, a Toronto community-based organization that offers non-residential addiction recovery programs which assisted over 10,000 people recovering from drug and alcohol addiction to reintegrate into the workforce and society;

* Josephine Mary Mills, M.S.M, Burnaby, British Columbia founded and became Executive Director of the Down Syndrome Research Foundation based in Vancouver, British Columbia, raising over $3,000,000 to establish a unique, state-of-the-art resource centre for individuals with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities;

* Ann Richardson, M.S.M., and Robert J. Richardson, M.S.M, Fort Erie, ON, established the Dreams to Memories Foundation which assists families with a terminally ill parent with children under the age of 15 in fulfilling a final wish;

* Everett Soop, M.S.M. (posthumous), Cardston, AB, an advocate for Aboriginal people and physically challenged persons, who personally suffered from muscular dystrophy, worked for the cause of First Nations peoples living with disabilities;

* Conchita Tan-Willman, M.S.M., Toronto, ON, in 1987, founded PRIME Mentors of Canada, an innovative mentoring program for students with high creative abilities who tend to be underachievers. By tapping into the wealth of experience, talent and skills of caring adults, particularly seniors and university students, the organization delivers a special proactive program for at-risk children, pairing mentors and proteges based on similar interests and strengths.

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