Total of 10 weeks of time donated by volunteers

More than 200 volunteers who undertook more than 4,000 hours of work at the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre last year were in the spotlight as the center hosted its annual volunteer Appreciation Dinner.

Master of Ceremonies Dale Monaghan said there are "four types of bines in every organizations: The wish bones, those who wish someone else would do something about the problem; the jaw bones, those who do the talking but very little else; the knuckle bones, those who knock everything; and the back bones, those who carry the load and do most of the work.

"Tonight we are here to celebrate the backbones."

At the top of the volunteer ladder was Anne Marie Auger, chair of the friendship centre's board of directors. She was name Female Board Member Volunteer of the Year for her volunteer commitment of 250 hours ? the equivalent of six weeks worth of work ? during 1996.

The man name Male Board Member Volunteer of the Year for the 'umpteenth' time in as many years was Butch L'Hirondelle who spent the equivalent of two weeks ? or 80 hours in donated time.

Sophie Cardinal was again named the Female Volunteer of the Year when tallies revealed she'd donated more than one month, a total of 169 hours at the friendship center last year.

Male Volunteer of the Year was Phil Willier who racked up 156 hours of volunteer time at the facility during 1996.

Some teens proved that volunteering is not just for adults. Cora Lee Cardinal was honored as the Youth Volunteer of the Year when records revealed she'd contributed 111 hours of her time to the friendship center last year.

Those honored with top volunteer ranking received gifts and flowers as a token of the centre's thanks but all volunteers were recognized for their commitment.

Included was Sheila Boisvert's Grade 3 class from E.G. Wahlstrom school. Students spent an afternoon at the center decorating for Halloween last fall.

Records show that four employees at the center contributed close to 500 hours of free time to the center last year. They included Executive Director Lynne Bird with 156 hours, Donna Twin with 134 hours, Russell Ghostkeeper with 106 hours and Arliss Gullion with 100 hours.

Appreciation night was kicked off with a turkey dinner for all volunteers, and concluded with the presentation of the 1996 Citizen of the Year award sponsored by the Friendship Centre and the Lakeside Leader newspaper.