Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers
August 13, 2020 - Capt Robert Beal, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron
Corporal Annabelle Villeneuve was honoured for her 15 years of volunteer work throughout Canada with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers on July 16.
The honour is typically presented by the Governor General in Ottawa; however, Cpl Villeneuve has elected to receive her medal wearing her Air Force blue uniform at her home unit, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron.
After arriving in Canada in 2005, she began volunteering at the Quebec Winter Carnival, and at the Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont St Anne during the summers. She soon began participating in historic re-enactment events, using her French language skills to portray life in Canada as an early settler.
In 2010 she and her husband, Major (Retd) Claude Villeneuve, moved to Winnipeg where she immediately had a positive impact by volunteering at the Military Family Resource Center; and for her efforts she was named the Volunteer of the Year.
As a fluently bilingual Canadian she ran French language workshops for 17 Wing’s military chaplains to better serve the local Francophone community. In 2012 she began volunteering as the Aide de Camp for the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and subsequently became the Aide de Camp for the Alberta Lieutenant Governor when she moved to that province in 2014.
Caption
Lieutenant Colonel David Forbes, Commanding Officer 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, presents Corporal Annabelle Villeneuve with the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers at 408 THS on July 16.
Photo by Corporal Wes Pfneisl, 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton Imaging
Her current volunteer work at the Fort Edmonton Park sees her guiding tour groups through the historical re-enactment centre and interpreting the lives of Métis women in 1846. A credit to her military unit, she also finds the time to volunteer at the Kipnes Veterans Centre helping seniors. She and her husband, a citizenship judge, welcome hundreds of people to Canada every year as they take their oaths of citizenship. Her immigration experience to Canada in 2005 serves as motivation to welcome all our new citizens with a warm welcome and open hearts.
Cpl Villeneuve’s volunteer work within every community is a shining example of the core values we hold as Canadians. She has strengthened our community of veterans, promoted the French language across Canada, educated the next generation of the contributions of women in Canadian history, and given a heartfelt welcomed to new Canadians as they begin their lives here.
The award of Sovereign Medal for Volunteers is well earned and serves as a mark of distinction for her and her military unit.
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