It is my pleasure to be here this evening to join you at your Badminton Victoria Board Meeting. Thank you for your warm welcome.

However, as you know, the primary reason I am here this evening is to present the Badminton B.C. President's Award for 2007.

The chosen recipient has been a dedicated volunteer for many years and is very deserving of having that recognized publicly. She unfortunately is not able to join us in Vancouver at the Sport B.C. Awards Dinner on March 14th, due to a prior commitment. We will miss having her there.

I now wish to tell you a little about her, even though you likely already know everything I am about to say, and more. Her interest in Badminton started with a gift of a $1.49 set of racquets from Woodward's Department Store on her tenth birthday, and she has been in love with the game ever since.

She played as a junior in Nanaimo and went on to play at U.B.C. as a student. In 1974, as a first time teacher in Kamloops, she coached the school team, and began to volunteer by organizing local tournaments.

The following are some of the highlights of her many volunteer accomplishments:

As I mentioned, these are just some of the highlights. I must say "Wow", all that and more from a starter set from Woodward's.

There will be a plaque forthcoming, but at this time I would like to call on Susie Nute to please come up here to receive this certificate in recognition of outstanding dedication and commitment to the sport of Badminton in B.C.

Susie, I thank you and so do the Board and members of Badminton B.C., for all your hard work and exceptional dedication to this wonderful sport.