The Rotary Club of Invermere has named Janet and Ray Brydon Citizens of the Year for 2015. The couple are long-term valley residents well-known throughout the valley for their extensive volunteer work.
We’re looking for people who contribute to the betterment of the community here in the valley, said Milt Deck, president of the Rotary Club of Invermere.
Each year, the club asks for nominations of people they believe fit the criteria of this award, which includes work that is not related to the person’s business, and Rotary Club members are not allowed to be nominated. This year, the Rotary chose a pair to be the recipients of the award. Janet and Ray Brydon were named the 2015 Citizens of the Year for their continued service to the community.
Jan and Ray are very involved with the Legion, Jan has done Meals on Wheels for a long time. They’re both involved with the Rockies hockey club Ray is the wood person; he delivers all the split firewood. Those are major commitments of time they’re putting in, explained Mr. Deck.
Both retiredm, Jan and Ray have lived in Invermere for many years. Jan worked as an elementary teacher for 33 years and Ray owned Stedmans Variety Store. When Ray received the phone call saying he was chosen for the award, he was taken aback.
I was just overwhelmed I know we do a lot of community volunteer work. We were shocked and grateful to the Rotary for selecting us this year, said Ray.
Janet was even more surprised as she was under the impression that Ray had been chosen for the award.
I was thinking it was just his award and that’s what I still thought until we came today, she said after the couple were presented the award at the Invermere Curling Centre on Wednesday, May 18th. I thought the wife gets to come along as a stand-by,
The pair share a long list of community service work. Ray has been involved with the Lions Club for almost 50 years. Janet has volunteered with the hospital (Meals on Wheels) and does Friday dinners at the Legion. Both have been heavily involved with Columbia Valley Rockies hockey as well as the Royal Canadian Legion. The Brydons say they like to stay busy and wouldn’t be able to do the work they do without the teams of other volunteers. Looking to the future, they plan to continue staying busy as active volunteers in the valley.
It’s our community. We like to contribute as much as we can to make it a better place to live and for people to visit, said Ray.
