The Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce will hand out their Citizen and Group of the Year awards on Thursday, January 24th at the Heritage Inn.

The awards recognize those who have made significant contributions to the social and economic climate of Moose Jaw.

Cory Olafson, Joe Gunnis, and Lynann and Lloyd Pethick are the nominees for Citizen of the Year.

"It's humbling for sure. It's not something I set out to achieve," said Olafson." 

"A big surprise to me!", said Gunnis. "It's a nice honour to be nominated." 

The Pethicks are active in the Optimist Club, the Masons and Eastern Star, St. Andrew's Church, the Western Development Museum, and the South Hill Community Association. "We don't do it to get honoured. We do these things because we enjoy it, and we really do enjoy helping people and being with people. We've lived in Moose Jaw now for thirty-three years."

15 Wing Fellowship, Dance Fitness by Kyra, Moose Jaw Families for Change, Church of God-Moose Jaw's Born 2 Dance, the Moose Jaw and District Sports Hall of Fame, and Sets 4 Supper are the nominees for Group of the Year.

Fellowship Chair Aaron Ruston said about their nomination, "It's pretty exciting. We're thrilled about it, that people see what we're doing in the community. The reason we do it is not for acknowledgment, that's for certain. It means a lot that people see that we're making a difference."

Kyleigh Coad is with the Born 2 Dance group. "It just kind of feels like all the extra work you give is being recognized and that you're making a difference, and not just running a program for the sake of running a program...that it's actually meeting the goals that you set out to meet."

Owner Kyra Klassen said about her group nomination, "It's a complete honour, that's for sure. Our team works really hard at building into the community. We believe that's important." 

Katie Statler is the Community Coordinator at Moose Jaw Families for Change. "The agency is very excited to be nominated for this, [as there's] been a lot of changes within our agency this year, with our expansion."