The 2009 Suzanne Rochon-Burnett
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Call for Nominations

Dr. Suzanne Rochon-Burnett was a founding member of The Métis Nation of Ontario, the first Vice-Chair of the MNO and a board member of the MNO Cultural Commission. She was named to the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She was a member of the Canada Council and the Board of Directors of TVOntario. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Brock University and served on Brock's Board of Trustees. She was a recipient off the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation and was the first woman inducted in the Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame. She spent her lifetime promoting Aboriginal artists and was a fiercely proud Métis woman. Sadly Suzanne passed away on April 2, 2006. The MNO is proud to name her as the first recipient of the Suzanne-Rochon Burnett Volunteer of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding service to the Métis Nation.

(June 9, 2009) - The Concise Oxford English Dictionary offers the following definitions of volunteer: “a person who freely offers to do something” or “a person who works for an organization without being paid.” At the Métis Nation of Ontario there is no need to look in a dictionary to define the term “volunteer.” No matter where you work – either as a volunteer or staff - you deal everyday with individuals who define volunteer far better than any dictionary. Yet even in an nation founded on hard working volunteers there are exceptional individuals – those who give continuosly above and beyond the call of duty - people like Senator Reta Gordon and Richard Sarrazin. In addtion to their willingess to serve, the other thing these selfless individuals have in common is that they have been recipients of the Volunteer of the Year award.

Once again this year, a new Volunteer of the Year will be recognized at the Annual General Assembly in Sudbury. The annual award is named after Dr. Suzanne Rochon-Burnett who was a founding member of the Métis Nation of Ontario, the first Vice-Chair of the MNO and a board member of the Métis Nation of Ontario Cultural Commission. She was named to the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. A member of the Canada Council and the Board of Directors of TVOntario, Suzanne was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Brock University where she served on the Board of Trustees and the Dean's Advisory Council for the Faculty of Business. She was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation and the first woman inducted in the Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame. Suzanne, a fiercely proud Métis woman who spent her life promoting Aboriginal artists passed away in 2006. The Métis Nation of Ontario honoured her memory and recognized her outstanding service to the Métis Nation by naming her the first recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award.

Nominations for the 2009 Suzanne Rochon-Burnett Volunteer of the Year Award close July 15, 2009

Objective:

The objective of the Award is to honour those who volunteer for the Métis Nation at the Annual General Assembly. One volunteer per year will be selected as the Suzanne-Rochon Volunteer of the Year by a special group of panellists. The name of the winner will be announced and honoured at the 2009 Annual General Assembly. A special plaque that will be on display at the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) head office will add the winning recipient’s name each year. The Volunteer of the Year will also be featured in the Métis Voyageur and on the MNO Website. As well they will have their name printed on promotional materials during the year between Annual General Assemblies.

Process:

Past recipients of the Suzanne-Rochon Burnett Volunteer of the Year Award Senator Reta Gordon (2007) and Richard Sarrazin (2008).

The deadline for nominations this year is July 15, 2009. Nominations must arrive at the MNO head office at 500 Old St. Patrick Street Ottawa Ontario K1N 9G4 by 5:00 p.m. All valid nominations will be forwarded to the Selection Panel for review. The panellists will submit their top three choices to the MNO Chief Electoral Officer by July 22, 2009. The MNO Chief Electoral Officer will put together a list of the top three candidates. In the event of a tie for third place candidate, all candidates in the tie shall be included. The list will then be circulated to the panellists who will complete their second ballot vote by July 29th and forward to the Chief Electoral Officer. The name of the person who received the most votes will be sent to the President of the MNO. In the event of a tie, the panel will hold a run off vote. In the event of a second tie, each candidate will be named Volunteer of the Year.

Selection Panel:

The Selection Panel shall consist of 11 MNO Citizens in good standing and shall include:

• The MNO President
• MNO Legal Counsel
• A Senator chosen by the Senators from amongst themselves at each Annual - General Assembly
• Four Community Council Presidents chosen from among themselves at each Annual General Assembly
• The Chair of the Métis Nation of Ontario Cultural Commission (or the Vice Chair in the event that the Chair is named by another category)
• A member of the Métis Women's Secretariat chose from among themselves at each Annual General Assembly
• A member of the MNO Youth Council chosen from among themselves at each Annual General Assembly
• The Volunteer of the Year for the current year

Panellists not identified or selected as noted above or that may no longer be available at the time of deliberations will be replaced with an alternate representative from the selected group(s) by the MNO President.

Criteria for Candidates for the Suzanne Rochon-Burnett Volunteer of the Year Award:

All MNO citizens can nominate a volunteer by completing a nomination form and filing it by the July 15th deadline.

All those nominated must consent to having his or her name submitted.

The individuals nominated should exemplify the volunteer contributions made to the Métis Nation and their community according to the standard set by Suzanne Rochon-Burnett. They will have given generously of their time and effort. They will have been strong advocates for the Métis Nation and will have established an outstanding record of selfless commitment. They will be seen as caring, giving individuals others look up to and admire. The candidates will have provided an extended period of service as a volunteer.