Celia Southward, the Coordinator of Special Populations for the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, has received the Award of Merit from The Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA) at its national conference in Saskatoon this fall.

The award honours Celia’s 30 plus years of dedication to the development, awareness, and advancement of paralympic sport, and recreation and accessibility for people with disabilities.

This award provides national recognition to an individual or organization for outstanding achievement at the municipal, regional and/or the provincial level. The achievement must make a significant and distinct contribution to the advancement of some aspect of local parks and recreation.

The Windsor Classic Indoor Games for the Physically Disabled, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary was also honoured with the CPRA National Benefits Award. The award is given to individuals or organizations that have incorporated a benefits based approach to the delivery of a parks and recreation service at the municipal, provincial or national level, and have demonstrated that a positive change has occurred in their community.

The Windsor Classic Indoor Games for the Physically Disabled, chaired by Celia Southward for the past 25 years, was honoured for its impact on local athletes, as well as the international community of athletes with disabilities.

The citation in the Canadian Parks and Recreation Associations reads “Celia has enriched many lives and has improved both the physical and mental well being of literally tens of thousands of individuals. She is a highly motivated individual who sets high goals and will do what it takes to overcome any obstacles thrown in her way.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2006 at 12:37 am and is filed under City News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.