MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Former Mountain View County councillor Al Kemmere has been honoured for his long service to municipal governance in the district and province.
Kemmere has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, created to recognize the 70th anniversary of the late monarch’s reign.
Issued by the province, the medal was presented to Kemmere by Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver during a ceremony last week. About 7,000 of the medals are being awarded in the province.
In an Albertan interview, Kemmere said, “Primarily it was for my years of serving as a local elected official on Mountain View County council, as well as for my work with Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA), my work with Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), and with the Western Economic Strategic Taskforce.”
Kemmere served 17 years on county council, including time as reeve. He also served 10 years with RMA, including six as president, as well as 13 years on FCM, including on the executive.
Kemmere said he received word that he had been named one of the medal recipients two days after the Queen’s funeral.
“It was a little bit overwhelming,” he said. “It caught me by surprise completely. To get that letter in the shadow of the Queen’s remembrance made it even a little more special. The timing made it a little bit touching.”
Being recognized for his community service is a “great honour,” he said.
Kemmere plans to build a shadow box frame to showcase his new medal.
“I’ve got it and two or three other commemorative things I’ve received over the years, so I think I’ll put them together in the box and put it on the wall,” he said. “That’s where they belong - where they can be seen by others.”
Current Mountain View County Reeve Angela Aalbers says Kemmere is well deserving of the honour.
"Al was always a strong advocate for his division at the council table," Aalbers said, "and served the ratepayers of Mountain View County with great respect and integrity. He built a solid relationship with provincial ministers, advocating for all municipalities on issues that were important to our way of life."
