McKay's contributions recognized

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There was no gala banquet flush with guest speakers. There were no spotlights pointed up at a stage.

Instead, there was a quiet dinner with a few friends, family and colleagues, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's representative in Saskatchewan. That is how Ray McKay has received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.

Lieutenant-Governor Lynda Haverstock presented the medal to McKay on Sept. 6 in La Ronge in honor of his contributions towards improving the personal, cultural, social and economic well-being of the people of northern Saskatchewan.

The medal, struck to commemorate the 50th year of the Queen's reign, is awarded "to those persons who have made a significant contribution to Canada, to their community and to their fellow Canadians," said Haverstock.

Haverstock was also in La Ronge to present the Lt.- Gov.Awards of Excellence to several northern students, so the presentation to McKay later that day was all the more fitting. When he worked for Saskatchewan Education, McKay was one of the engineers of that student awards program, and it is obviously still important to him. "I thank you for continuing this really good program," was his immediate reply to Haverstock. The recipients of those awards have become lawyers, engineers, teachers and other leading citizens, McKay noted.

"I'm almost embarrassed," he said after receiving his medal.

McKay has spent decades as an educator, a civil servant and now CEO of Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership (KMLP), the economic development company for the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, of which McKay is a member. He joined the provincial civil service in 1979, eventually becoming deputy minister of the new department of Saskatchewan Northern Affairs under long-time colleague Keith Goulet. McKay left that post in 1998 to become the top officer of KMLP, one of the leading firms in the province.

McKay thanked his family for their long support of his work; Haverstock presented his wife, Nancy, with a flower arrangement. He also praised his colleagues and co-workers through the years for forming a winning team.

The occasion also honored artist Myles Charles, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian band who is retiring from Saskatchewan Learning. Charles was a guest of honor along with McKay, and he received gifts from the McKays and the department.