Four deserving Moose Jaw residents will be recognized for their many years of service to their community on Friday.
Rob Carnie, John Iatridis, Wendy Vincent, and Carly Jaye were all nominated and will all be awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for their commitment and significant contributions they’ve made to Moose Jaw over the years.
They will join many other deserving Saskatchewan residents that like them, are all community focused and driven. The ceremony will take place on Friday at the Heritage Inn (1590 Main Street North).
Rob Carnie has been the voice that Moose Javian’s has woken up to or heard daily on 800 CHAB for over 30 years. Carnie was also the voice of the Moose Jaw Warriors for a number of years. You also may have seen Rob at a number of public or private events over the years as a host or emcee of the program.
In 2022, Carnie was awarded the “Champion of Moose Jaw” for his many years of being involved within the community.
John Iatridis is the owner of The Mad Greek in downtown Moose Jaw and Rodos Pizza on the south end of the city. Iatridis’s heritage runs deeps in the city as his family started the Ambassador Café back in 1963, which eventually became Rodos and The Mad Greek.
John Iatridis’ family originated in Greece. However, after the second world war, Iatridis’ father and many of his uncles all migrated to Canada within a few short years. Then his mother not long after. When they arrived, many of them settled in Moose Jaw.
Wendy Vincent has been a staple in the Moose Jaw Youth Flag Football League. Vincent co-founded the league and was its president for 10 years. She retired from the position in June 2022.
Youth flag football began in Moose Jaw in 2012 as a tiny league of just over 70 players and grew quickly under Wendy’s leadership, reaching over 400 players at its pre-pandemic peak. Wendy’s dedication to the young people of Moose Jaw and to the growth of the sport of flag football in our community is greatly appreciated by the many coaches, players and families of the sport.
Last but not least, local artist Carly Jaye. Jaye has had her hand in many murals around the city. Her latest creation was the mural she did on the north side of The Mad Greek restaurant which told a story of the rich history the Iatridis family has had in the community. She is young, full of energy, and is doing what she can to service her community one wall at a time.
The four recipients noted in the story are the ones that Discover Moose Jaw was made aware of at the time of publishing. We have been told there are several more. The full list of recipients will be released on Thursday (October 6, 2022) by the Government of Saskatchewan.
The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal was created to celebrate the 70th anniversary year of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Accession to the Throne, which began on February 6, 2022.
Throughout the Platinum Jubilee year, the province will present a total of 7,000 medals to recipients who have contributed to Canada, Saskatchewan, or a particular region or community.
The province says the criteria for the medal are very broad, and recipients should be of all ages, and all walks of life, provided that they have made a contribution to society.
Three minimum criteria for the medal recipients are:
• They are a resident of Saskatchewan or have a link to Saskatchewan (at the time of the grant of the medal);
• They have made a contribution to Canada, Saskatchewan, or to a particular region or community; and
• They were alive on February 6, 2022, the 70th anniversary of Her Majesty’s Accession to the Throne.
Full details and the nomination form can be found with this link to the Province of Saskatchewan website.
Travis Burnett
A pioneer in the flag football community, Travis helped co-found the Flag Football World Championship Tour, FlagSpin and USA Flag. Featuring 15+ years of content creation for the sport of flag football, creating and managing the largest flag football tournaments on the planet, coaching experience at the youth and adult level as well as an active player with National and World Championship level experience.