Two Saskatchewan humanitarians have received the highest honour from the Canadian Red Cross.
Barb Thompson and Doug Reid join a small group of Canadians who are members of the Order of the Red Cross.
Both facilitators have devoted countless hours to people across the country and they have trained more than 200 volunteers.
Reid has spent around 14 years with the organization.
Starting in administration, he helped shape the future of the Red Cross in Saskatchewan by being a strong voice in the merging of the two locations in the province.
“It’s nice to have this honour but we have to keep in mind it’s not about me, it’s about how we are helping the less fortunate not only here in Canada but around the world,” said Reid.
As for Thompson, she has spent most of her life being a member of the Red Cross family, starting in elementary school along with her family.
She is recognized for her work in disaster management and training across Canada.
“It’s really impressive that if you get chosen for this, it is quite an honour,” said Thompson.
Having worked through many natural disasters and helped thousands of people along the way, there are moments that stick out for the pair.
For Reid, it was the North Battleford floods in 2010 that brought over 60 millimetres of rain and flooded around 200 homes.
“With three staff, we ended up with having some thousand to 1,500 people arriving in the Battlefords,” said Doug.
Thompson recollected a memory that, to her, represents the Red Cross’s purpose.
A man she presumes was in his 50s lost his house and life-long job to wildfires in Kamloops, B.C.
“When he came in, his head was down, he was very depressed and his shoulders were down and when he went out, his head was up and his shoulders were up and he strolled out the door,” said Thompson.
According to Luc Mullinder, vice-president of the Saskatchewan Red Cross, the two are beyond deserving of the award.
“These two really embody what it is to be a Canadian Red Crosser,” said Mullinder.
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