10 Nova Scotians to Be Awarded First Order of Nova Scotia

PREMIER'S OFFICE--10 Nova Scotians to Be Awarded First Order of Nova Scotia

Premier John Hamm today announced the inaugural recipients of the Order of Nova Scotia.

"These Nova Scotians have been selected because of their outstanding contributions and for bringing honour and prestige to our province," said Premier Hamm. "The Order of Nova Scotia is the highest honour we can bestow upon them."

For 2002, the recipients are:

• Carrie M. Best, New Glasgow, was a pioneer in the fight for racial equality in Nova Scotia. She promoted interracial understanding and goodwill as a journalist and broadcaster. Dr. Best died on July 24, 2001.

• John Harry Boudreau, Petit de Grat, is the son of a fisherman, a dedicated teacher, an ardent sportsman and a tireless volunteer. It is in large part through his efforts that Isle Madame was saved from economic disaster when the collapse of the ground fishery occurred.

• Shirley R. Chernin, Sydney, led the Citizens Service League in Glace Bay for 30 years. The organization provides over a dozen direct services through the work of more than 250 volunteers, making volunteerism a worthy profession.

• Lorne O. Clarke, Halifax, was chief justice of Nova Scotia, working for better public understanding of the courts. As chair of the Swissair Flight 111 Memorial Secretariat, he helped create a fitting and dignified monument to that tragedy.

• Edith H. Cromwell, Inglewood, Annapolis County, was the first member of her African-Nova Scotian community to graduate from high school, among the first Black graduates of the Nova Scotia Teachers College and a teacher who taught racial tolerance and encouraged young people to pursue their dreams.

• Marie Beatrice Elwood, Tantallon, is a creative and imaginative teacher, an expert on ceramics, and chief curator of history for the Nova Scotia Museum. She has provided Nova Scotians with a better understanding and appreciation of our cultural history.

• James Albert Kehoe, Sydney, is a carpenter by trade. Owner and operator of one of the most successful construction companies in the province, he demonstrates his faith in Cape Breton by investing in struggling companies to give them the capital they need to survive and create employment.

• Anne Murray, Toronto, is an internationally acclaimed recording artist and an outstanding ambassador for Nova Scotia who takes a personal interest in the centre that bears her name and that brings thousands of visitors to her hometown of Springhill.

• Daniel N. Paul, Halifax, is a former executive director of the Confederacy of Mainland Micmacs. He is a passionate writer who gives a voice to his people by revealing a past that the standard histories have chosen to ignore.

• John Patrick Savage, Dartmouth, is a family physician, former mayor of Dartmouth and premier of this province. He established medical and social programs and services in under-serviced areas of Nova Scotia and later became actively involved in developing countries.

These recipients have been selected by the Order of Nova Scotia advisory council from over 200 nominations submitted from across the province. They will be recognized at an investiture ceremony in Halifax on Oct. 2.

The Order of Nova Scotia was established in June 2001 and recipients have the right to use the initials ONS after their names. Ten people have been selected as inaugural recipients, although no more than five people will be selected in the following years.