Cochrane-area resident Jodi Flanagan is the latest local whose heartfelt dedication to volunteerism over the years has earned her a Queen's Diamond Platinum Jubilee Award.
Flanagan is a long-serving coach and volunteer with Special Olympics Alberta, whose involvement with the organization dates back to the late 1980s. She said she was excited when she learned a few weeks ago that she'd be receiving a Queen's Diamond Platinum Jubilee Award – an accolade created this year to celebrate people with immense community service involvement. The awards were created in honour of the 70-year anniversary of the late Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne.
“It’s such a privilege to be honoured and recognized when you put your heart and soul into something, especially when it’s unexpected,” Flanagan said.
The resident of west Rocky View County was recognized alongside four other recipients from Special Olympics Alberta during a presentation at the Sheraton Cavalier Hotel in Calgary on Dec. 17. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Special Olympics Alberta CEO Sue Gilchrist were on hand to present the medals.
“Because of people like our recipients, countless numbers of individuals with intellectual disabilities have been able to experience the transformative power and joy of sports,” read a press release from Special Olympics Alberta.
According to that same press release, Flanagan has been volunteering with Special Olympics Alberta for 33 years. She got her start in the organization by coaching figure skating in Calgary, at the age of just 21 years old.
She held the role of SOA's head figure skating coach from 1990 to 2001, growing the program from four athletes to over 30.
In the two decades since then, Flanagan's involvement in Special Olympics has expanded. She is now mostly kept busy in the field of coaching development – a role that sees her train other Special Olympics coaches on how to work with the athletes.
An article about her volunteering achievements on Specialolympics.ca states her many roles over the years have included acting as Special Olympics Canada's Master Coach Developer, an SOA Sport Council member, the SOA Floor Hockey Committee Chair, a Provincial Games volunteer, and Team Alberta selection committee member.
Flanagan also helps organizing committees and municipalities prepare to host Special Olympics tournaments by assisting in the process of “divisioning,” which is helping them seed athletes, create schedules, and fulfill other duties required to put together a successful provincial or national games.
“I’m highly involved with Team Alberta,” she said. “We take them to the national games, which will happen to be in Calgary in 2024.”
She added she'll be the Chef de Mission – for the third time – for Team Alberta at that 2024 event, and is also travelling to Berlin, Germany next June for Team Canada as the assistant Chef de Mission for the world games.
“I have my fingers in lots of different areas,” said Flanagan, who was previously recognized with the Jim Thompson Award – an accolade presented to Special Olympics Canada's volunteer of the year.
When asked what has kept her involvement going for over three decades, Flanagan was quick to answer – the athletes.
“They’re so genuine,” she said. “Everything about it is real. When you need a perspective check, this is where you come. They’re genuinely there for the right reasons. They’re just there to help, to support, and see growth and development.
“I’m very much in the background of things, but it’s facilitating the potential for people to achieve things that, years ago, they never would have thought they could.”
Flanagan said the next big Special Olympics Alberta event will be the association's provincial winter games in February 2023 – the first provincial winter games since before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will be held in Strathcona County.
To wrap up the interview, Flanagan praised Special Olympics Alberta's positivity and ability to create opportunities for local athletes to pursue success.
“That is what draws you in,” she said. “We all say we do it for the athletes – there is no question about it – but every single day, we as coaches and volunteers come out with something as well.
“We’re always learning and being rewarded just by being there. In terms of the award, it’s such a privilege to be recognized for doing something you love and having that dedication and commitment to an organization, and know it’s at that level of acknowledgment.
“It’s special – I don’t know any other way to describe it.”
