Terry Fox Award recipients lead by example

The W.F.A. Turgeon School student sat quietly in Prince Albert City Hall’s council chambers, as Mayor Greg Dionne spoke on his behalf during the Terry Fox Award recognition ceremony on Monday.

He received the 2014 Terry Fox Award alongside Bailey Oleksyn, 17. Dionne said Konnor was “very surprised” about receiving the award, and he thanked his nominators.

In the 33rd year of honouring Prince Albert students that demonstrate characteristics emblematic of the award’s namesake, the City wasn’t able to choose just one student that showed perseverance, courage, determination and strength. The City chose Konnor and Oleksyn, who raised more than $5,000 for the Terry Fox Foundation last year.

She has been raising funds for cancer research and awareness about the disease after the death of her father, Dean in 2004. He had the same form of cancer that Terry Fox had been diagnosed with.

Community services director Jody Boulet described both as role models in their respective age categories, which, he said, made it fitting to honour both as co-recipients.

“Konnor and Bailey, you both truly are an inspiration to our entire community,” Boulet said.

He said that in making the recommendation to council this year, they really struggled with having only one selection. He said they felt they had two very deserving recipients.

The honour is something Konnor’s mother, Christine, described as “amazing”. She called her son pretty strong.

“He’s gone through a lot of surgeries, so I would say he’s pretty happy [despite] what he’s kind of gone through,” she said. Konnor, who loves hockey and has recently started horseback riding, has two younger brothers. Christine described him as a role model, since he’s responsible for his age.

“He does like to look after them and make sure they’re OK. He’s always cautious with them,” she said.

When he talks to his friends, Konnor said he tells them he had a tumour that was about the size of a tennis ball.

“It did hurt, but I guess I just let the pain go,” he said.

And the strength of co-recipient Bailey Oleksyn impressed her nominator Jackie Packet. Packet, a 2015 inductee into the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame, wrote a letter to the nomination committee describing Oleksyn’s commitment to activities at St. Mary High School, as well as her academic achievements.

But she said Oleksyn’s “Wear-it-on-your-sleeve” bracelet campaign encapsulate Fox’s mission. Oleksyn hand-makes bracelets and sells them to raise funds. Since the campaign started, she has raised $15,000.

“The various colours of the bracelets reflect the different forms of cancer and the moneys raised through their sales contribute to cancer research. She, like Terry, is making a difference,” Packet wrote.

Oleksyn started creating and selling bracelets when she was eight years old and lived in Toronto. Her family later moved to Prince Albert and she recently decided to create and sell the bracelets again, but “in a more grown up way,” she said.

The bracelets were made of leather and each colour represented a different kind of cancer.

Going forward, she plans to continue her involvement, whether it’s taking part in the Terry Fox Run or supporting the community.

She said every step you can take makes a difference, she said.

“So, by showing people that even selling bracelets would make a big difference, means that they should also continue in doing that or start doing that to help out cancer research.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

Terry Fox Award recipients lead by example

What's Trending