By Neil Armstrong
Photo credit: Government of Saskatchewan Mavis Ashbourne-Palmer and Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty with the medal of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit
Mavis Ashbourne-Palmer likes volunteering steadily in the background but was recently thrust in the limelight when she was invested into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, the province’s highest honour.
She is the second Jamaican and the first Jamaican woman to be so recognized. In 1998, the Montego Bay-born Dr. Constantine Campbell, the internationally known agrologist who worked for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as a soil scientist in Swift Current, was invested into the Order.
The veteran volunteer was among sixteen recipients – ten for 2020 and six for 2021 – honoured at a ceremony on November 17 where they received the medal of the Order from Lieutenant Governor Russ Mirasty for having “significantly impacted the well-being of Saskatchewan people.”
“I am very humbled about it. It was not something that I had in my vocabulary that I would ever get such a high recognition. But I am very grateful, and most of all, I am thankful to the creator above because the way I was brought up in church, I feel anything that happen to you the good Lord has a hand in it,” says Ashbourne-Palmer who is from Broadgate, St. Mary.
The citation before the presentation notes that although Ashbourne-Palmer celebrates 50 years in the province this year, she still retains proud ties to her home country of Jamaica.
“She grew up not unlike many in her adopted province on the family’s mixed farm and hers was a happy childhood with a faith-based approach that has held her in good stead through her life. Now, Mavis is a spitfire. Her energy as she enters her eighth decade exceeds those half her age and when she came to Saskatchewan in 1971, she recognized immediately that the friendly spirit of the province was something that she identified with.”
She was lionized for helping to welcome thousands of people into the province while maintaining a strong connection to her culture.
Ashbourne-Palmer is a founding member of the Regina Open Door Society as well as the Saskatchewan Caribbean-Canadian Association and the Saskatchewan Jamaican Association. Her efforts helped establish the celebrations of Black History Month in the province recognizing late nineteenth century pioneers.
In 2018, she was recognized as one of 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women.
“Her manifold accomplishments defy the counting but suffice it to say if there is a need for volunteer efforts in Regina, it’s likely that Mavis is involved somehow. For Mavis, Saskatchewan is the conscience of Canada and her work as a community leader is the quintessence of our provincial motto – From Many Peoples Strength.”
The Saskatchewanian was described as “a prominent pillar of our volunteer community whose half century of service is an example to us all.”
Ashbourne-Palmer immigrated to Saskatchewan from Jamaica when she was 25 years old and began working at a long-term care facility in Regina. At the time, many young Jamaicans, including many of her friends, were moving overseas.
She became an advocate for Jamaican women working in Canada as domestics and opened her home to anyone in need of shelter. The Regina Open Door Society, which she helped found, was a welcome centre for immigrants
Since 1985, the Saskatchewan Order of Merit has recognized citizens who demonstrate exemplary contributions to the province in areas such as the arts, business and industry, agriculture, community leadership and volunteer service.
The individuals invested this year will join 242 other citizens who have previously been invested into the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.
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