March 2

Good morning,

I am doing okay.

A bit of a lunch bag let down now that the NFL season and the Olympics are
over.
We are back to cheering on the Senators to hopefully make the playoffs.

I had a very good and meaningful week.

I had a catscan on Monday and Chemo on Tuesday. All went well.

I will meet my oncologist tomorrow to review my catscan and the next
course of action.
If more Chemo is needed, I am okay with that. I am doing well dealing with
the chemo treatments with minimal side effects.

The highlight of the week for me was receiving on Thursday the Prime
Minister's Volunteer Award (PMVA) in Toronto.

It was very meaningful to me but also a very humbling experience.

There were 17 awards given out, 2 nationally and 15 regionally. There were
5 regions and three different awards for each region.

I received the Community Leader Award for Ontario. Liz and our daughter
Tori attended with me.

The experience was humbling hearing the stories of the other award winners.
It was amazing to hear what other volunteers are doing to make our country
a better place to live in.

I was able to speak with Prime Minister Harper twice.

The first time was when I received the award. 

Our son Michael wanted me to ask the PM if he got his two cases of beer
from President Obama as Canada won both the Men's and Women's Olympic
Hockey gold medals. He responded not yet but he is confident that Obama
will come through.

The second time I spoke with the PM was when there was a group photo of
the award recipients. I complimented him on how he is making his
decisions, doing what is right and not what is politically correct. I also
complimented him on how his trip to Israel went and mentioned that my
Mother was on the trip. I also mentioned how wonderful it was to work with
his wife Laureen as Honourary Chair on the NAC gala for 4 years. She was
an active participant on the committee, not just an Honourary Chair.

I am truly honoured to have received the PMVA and am very thankful to
Telus for nominating me. It is so greatly appreciated.

Receiving the award makes me want to do more to help our wonderful
community of Ottawa.

Volunteerism is so important to our community.

I have been involved as a volunteer with hospitals, universities, United
Way, NAC and local and Jewish agencies and there is so much that needs to
be done.

Ottawa is becoming a center of excellence in so many ways. Our hospitals
are providing remarkable care utilizing cutting edge methods. My
involvement with CHEO, TOH, QCH, The Royal Ottawa Hospital for Mental
Care, the Ottawa Heart Institute and the ORCF gives me great confidence
that we have the leadership to continue improving the medical treatments
we receive in Ottawa.

Our local universities are improving immensely and are becoming world
renowned. I sit on the Board of Governors of Carleton University and I am
truly impressed with the leadership that Roseann Runte has brought to not
just Carleton University but to the City of Ottawa.

I have been involved with United Way and have realized the many social
problems that need to be addressed within our community. Unfortunately our
City of Ottawa can not address all of the concerns.

The Federal, Provincial and Municipal agencies can not satisfy the many
outstanding needs of our community.

Therefore we need to step up to the plate and be active volunteers to
continue to improve the quality of life in Ottawa and assist the many
causes within our community.

For me, I enjoy helping others. I enjoy meeting nice people who want to
help others. It is a great feeling. I enjoy knowing that improving our
community will attract quality people that will further improve the
quality of life in Ottawa.

Volunteerism is so important as it is what makes our country a great place
to live in.
Hopefully more people will volunteer their time.

I am very proud to be a Canadian and an Ottawan.

Together we can make a difference.

All the very best,

Arnie.