Ian Williams, the now former-president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 228 in Hope, has been awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of his leadership and community service over the years.
"It's a huge honour to be nominated. And to be chosen is even bigger," Williams said. "It's a big deal."
Williams is one of 30,000 Canadians who received the medal this year. The award was presented to him, along with 19 other people, by the Royal Canadian Legion on Feb. 22 in Cloverdale (Surrey). According to Williams, the Legion presented 54 people, spread out between B.C. and the Yukon, with the medal this year.
Williams was the Hope Legion president for 11 years before passing on the role to Mike Ogren, the current president. He's been a Legion member for 60 years and a volunteer firefighter in Hope for 42 years. A Royal Canadian Navy veteran, he's done countless volunteer service in the community and won the Hope Heart Hero award in 2017.
"I just happened to be one of the very fortunate people chosen for (the coronation medal)," Williams said. "And I feel a little bit humble to be in that that group of people (who received the medal with me). They weren't just Legion members, although it was presented by the Legion. The criteria was not Legion criteria. The dedication to your community was way more important. So, yeah, I'm pretty chuffed about receiving it."
People could be nominated by many of the partner organizations which includes provincial governments, RCMP, and the Canadian Armed Forces.
The medal was created to mark the coronation of King Charles III, which took place on May 6, 2023. It is the first Canadian commemorative medal to mark a coronation. Mary Simon, the Governor General of Canada, launched it, and the medal was approved by the King and manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint.
The medal recognizes those who have made significant contributions to Canada and their home province. Specifically, medal recipients must have made a "significant contribution to Canada or to a particular province, territory, region or community of Canada, or have made an outstanding achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada."
— with files from Jessica Peters
