A Turner Valley RCMP auxiliary constable has been honoured with a 2011 Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security Crime Prevention Award.
Const. Lyn Michaud of Turner Valley was given the award, of which there were only two recipients throughout the province this year, at a formal ceremony at Government House in Edmonton on May 6.
“I’m really honoured, but I’m just one of many,” said Michaud. “It’s just the thought that somebody recognizes you more than actually being chosen for the award that is important.”
Michaud was recognized for his volunteer position with Turner Valley RCMP for the past nine years. Auxiliary constables are adjunct volunteers who work alongside regular RCMP officers throughout the province.
“Auxiliary constables volunteer their time on behalf of the community, so they’re supposed to have a strong link to the community,” he explained. “Often their local knowledge makes quite a difference when it comes to enhancing policing activities within their detachment area.”
Michaud received the award largely for his work assisting emergency services in developing a map of the Eden Valley Reserve, southwest of Turner Valley.
“I developed the first aerial map of the entire Eden Valley Reserve, so now everyone in emergency services uses that map to find people on the reserve,” explained Michaud.
Before the map was created, Michaud said it was difficult for emergency services to locate residents in need of medical assistance on the reserve.
“Previously, it was kind of hit and miss,” he said. “You’d get an emergency call and typically in Eden Valley… but nobody would know exactly where the person actually lived.”
As a result of Michaud’s efforts, all houses in Eden Valley are now numbered and are shown on the map shared by all emergency services.
“We have a good sense of who lives where now, and emergency services can be dispatched much more quickly than was formerly the case,” he said.
Turner Valley RCMP detachment commander Sgt. Jim Ross, who nominated Michaud for the position, described him as a tireless volunteer who puts in countless hours to make the community a safe place to live. The Eden Valley Reserve map, which Ross said Michaud spent thousands of hours developing, is just one of the many initiatives he was recognized for.
“In the last nine years, he’s put in over 5,214 hours as a volunteer auxiliary constable,” said Ross. “I’m sure this is a conservative estimate because he’s in here everyday doing things … The list just goes on and on.”
Outside of his work with the RCMP, Michaud is also president of the Foothills Search and Rescue group and uses his experience to help train other RCMP officers in search and rescue operations. For the past 21 years, Michaud puts in a minimum of 200 hours as a volunteer ski patroller at Lake Louise.
“I’m used to help provide guidance on finding places in the backcountry here in our huge Turner Valley detachment area, because I know the people and places out here quite well,” explained Michaud.
“Each one of those activities has a crime prevention and public safety component,” agreed Ross. “Our communities are far better and safer as a result of Michaud’s efforts.”
Eight people received Alberta Solicitor General awards this year, but only one other auxiliary constable was recognized in the same individual category as Michaud.
“I’m fortunate enough to have won the award this year, but it’s really a reflection of all the thousands of hours put in by volunteer auxiliary constables across the province,” he said. “I don’t know how the province could get by without them.”
Recipients were selected by a committee of representatives from Alberta Solicitor General and Public Security, community crime prevention agencies, and Alberta Police Services.
