Phoenix President Stan Pagonis - Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
NEWS RELEASE
Richmond Hill MP Costas Menegakis Honours Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal Recipients
(Richmond Hill, Ontario, September 6, 2012) - Richmond Hill MP Costas Menegakis honoured thirty individuals with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal September 6 at a special ceremony held at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.
“I am pleased to honour 30 exceptional individuals with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal," said MP Menegakis. "All have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their daily lives and are committed to making our communities a better place in which to live.”
MP Menegakis spoke about the Queen’s 60 years on the throne and her dedication to community, service and society. “The Queen has dedicated her entire life to the service of others and has always held this country and all Canadians in the deepest of pride and affection,” said MP Menegakis. “Her ideals and devotion to service are an example to all of us, just as those we honour tonight have motivated others within their own communities. Indeed, it is a remarkable testament to these individuals that once informed of this honour; they all noted how fortunate they were, to have worked with so many others who have inspired them. This speaks to the true spirit of teamwork that characterizes 13 million volunteers in our nation. I thank all of these individuals for their exemplary service for the benefit of all.”
The Diamond Jubilee medal program is a legacy activity that honours Her Majesty and recognizes the service of Canadians from all walks of life and backgrounds that have made significant contributions to their communities and helped create the Canada of today. Some 60,000 Diamond Jubilee medals—to match the 60 years of service of Her Majesty—are being given to Canadians throughout the year.
The Chancellery of Honours, as part of the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, administers the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal program.
To be eligible for this honour, a person must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, but need not necessarily reside in Canada; have made a significant contribution to a particular province, territory, region or community within Canada, or an achievement abroad that brings credit to Canada; and be alive on February 6th, 2012, the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the Throne. The Diamond Jubilee is one of several important anniversaries leading to the 150th anniversary of Confederation in 2017 that has shaped our history and contributed to our national identity.
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal Recipients:
David Bishop, Lieutenant-Colonel John Burns, David Cohen, Jackie Cousins, Nancy Coxford, Chunilall Doobay, Private Arthur Fortin, Dr. Athanassios Foussias, Colin Gillis, Tom Graham, Ernest A. Henderson, Greg Kanargelidis, Ashiq Khan, Farsad Kiani, Valentin Lossev, Sheelagh MacDonald, Sam Manougian, Captain Thomas McKeage, C.D., Sri Krishna Misir, Wendy Ophelders, Stan Pagonis, Michael Parsa, David Pearo, Major Kanwal Sethi, Mul Raj Sethi, Constantinos Sophocleous, Vito Spatafora, Kai Tao, Daisy Wai, Alex Yuan.
Medal Recipient, Stan Pagonis
Stan Pagonis has been instrumental in the development of minor baseball in Ontario and Richmond Hill and is a strong voice and champion for the advancement of the sport. Stan has volunteered over 25 years of service to the Richmond Hill Phoenix Baseball Club as a coach, umpire, convener, executive member and president. Before Richmond Hill, Stan was active with the York Simcoe Baseball Association, serving on its executive for many years. In the 1990's, Stan was instrumental in introducing the now popular "Rookie Ball" program to Ontario for eight and nine-year-olds. He was also the driving force behind forming the Select Ontario Baseball Association and was a founding director of the Richmond Hill Community Sports Council. He has been a member of the Mayor’s Community Charity Golf Tournament since 2008.