Phoebe Dunbar, one of Sooke’s busiest volunteers, was the recipient of two medals. She was honoured with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal at the British Columbia Legislature on Dec. 17.
“It was a wonderful ceremony at the legislative assembly this afternoon,” said Dunbar. “I was amongst 28 receiving this medal today, four recipients from each of the seven ridings on South Vancouver Island. I was in very good company.”
The photo is of MLA John Horgan presenting the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award to Phoebe Dunbar, which she was supposed to receive when His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnson was in Victoria on July 19, but unfortunately she missed that ceremony as she was up at Haida Gwaii.
“It was an honour to be nominated by my peers for these two distinguished awards. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal, awarded to many deserving Canadians, including a dozen or so here in Sooke, is special for me for a number of reasons. The most important and proud reason being that my twin sister Mary, was awarded this same medal a few weeks ago, posthumously. I accepted this medal for Mary over in Richmond, in a most moving ceremony. I didn’t know at the time that was a dress rehearsal because shortly thereafter I was notified that I got one too. Our family and friends are enjoying this pre-Christmas twin story. We are honoured indeed.”