St. Alban’s Richmond Parish Leader Honoured with National Award

Pamela Hiensch, long time member and lay leader of St. Alban’s, Richmond has been awarded the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers.

Here is the descriptive text from the website:

The Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers (SMV) is a national award that recognizes the volunteer achievements of Canadians from across the country in a wide range of fields. It is the highest honour for volunteer service that an individual can receive within the Canadian Honours System.

The SMV program was created in 2016 to replace its predecessor, the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award (CCA), conceived in 1995 by then-Governor General the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc. The Medal builds on the legacy and spirit of the CCA by honouring the dedication and commitment of volunteers. 

Those who are accepted to receive the honour have been nominated through the nomination process. The nominators are anonymous. The main eligibility criteria are that that nominee’s service be:

1.      Unpaid

2.      Sustained

3.      Significant

Here is the nomination text as supplied by Margaret Hewitt:

In 1971, Pam Hiensch founded The Richmond Singers by placing an ad in a local newspaper inviting women who were interested in singing recreationally. The initial group of 15 members has grown to 58 members that the City of Richmond describes as a “popular, long-standing musical organization that provides opportunities for singers to perform throughout Richmond and beyond”. Members range in age from 20s to 80s representing diversity in backgrounds and talents that enhance performances and connections with audiences.

Each season the choir performs two to three main concerts, normally including local guest performers, often children’s groups, and occasionally guest choirs. The choir also sings for City of Richmond events, for local charities, and other special events. The Richmond Singers are proud to have been invited to represent British Columbia at the July 1, 2003 UNISONG celebrations in Ottawa, at Festival 500 in St John’s in 2009, and in 2016 to sing with 1000 choristers from around the world at the Kathaumixw Festival in Powell River, BC.

Over her many years in the choir, Pam contributed her leadership skills to the society’s various operating committees and on its Board of Directors, including serving as President. Now retired from the main choir, she continues to sing in The Richmond Singers Ensemble, of which she was also a founding member.  The Ensemble performs in venues not suitable for the larger choir. Averaging more than 30 performances a year, its sixteen members enthusiastically take their lively interactive programs to retirement homes, adult day care centres, and community events.

A wife, mother, and grandmother, Pam’s life work is caring for her family, church, and her community. A decades-long member of St Alban’s Anglican Church, her past and current volunteer commitments include serving as Warden for the congregation, Liaison with the Diocese, the Canonical Committee for hiring clergy, Liturgy Reader, Sunday School programs, and preparing lunches for homeless persons. Pam was also among the parishioners who started the Richmond Food Bank with which she volunteered for many years after it became an independent society. Pam’s volunteerism continues to enhance our community and inspires others to do the same.

Pamela Hiensch’s Citation reads as follows:

Having founded The Richmond Singers and The Richmond Ensemble, Pam Hiensch entertains at charity events in her community and helps to break the isolation of seniors by performing at long-term care facilities. For the past four decades, she has also been serving meals to the homeless and those in need at the Richmond Food Bank and St. Alban’s Anglican Church.

Presentation ceremonies are held throughout the year in communities across Canada. The Chancellery of Honours makes every effort to arrange a presentation ceremony within two calendar years of the date of the award. The recipient may also opt to have the Medal sent to them by mail within two months of it being awarded.

Hopefully a presentation ceremony will be allowed to take place and photos will made available.

Congratulations to Pam for this well-deserved honour and many thank to Barbara Jenks and Margaret Hewitt for alerting diocesan communications and sharing the news.

(Prepared with files from the Soverign's Medal for Volunteers website; Margaret Hewitt and Barbara Jenks)