The Royal Canadian Humane Association honoured 30 Albertans for showing extraordinary bravery during times of crisis.
Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell showed great pride when talking about the recipients at this year’s awards. “The Albertans receiving awards today responded with great strength, courage and presence of mind and they saved lives through their efforts.”
The recipients came from diverse backgrounds and responded to a variety of situations, but all chose to attempt to help someone despite the potential risk to themselves. The 30 recipients included children, adults and agents of various law enforcement agencies.
For Peace Officer Dillion Samms, the situation he found himself in wasn’t something he’s used to dealing with outside of work. “At work, we do deal with situations that can be very stressful sometimes,” said Samms. “When you have the uniform on it’s kind of almost an expectation that you go out and do your job. But when you’re not at work at home as a civilian it’s a different feeling.”
Samms and his girlfriend were walking their dog at Hermitage Park in Edmonton when they could hear faint screams coming from the river. Samms proceeded to run down an embankment towards the water when he saw a ten-year-old girl clinging to a rock, the water rushing around her. Samms ventured into the rushing water at great risk to himself and was able to pull the girl to safety. For his efforts, Samms received the Bronze Medal for Bravery.
One of the most notable recipients was Constable Michael Chernyk. Constable Chernyk was struck by a car last September during an attack in Edmonton. After being struck by the car Chernyk’s attacker attempted to take the officer’s weapon. Despite being wounded Chernyk was able to force his attacker to retreat before notifying fellow officers of the attack.
The RCHA awards people for bravery from every province. If you know someone who has risked their lives to help someone else and want to nominate them you can do so at the RCHA website.
