Donat Grenier, First Recipient Of The Medal Awarded By The Member Of Parliament For Mégantic—l’Érable, Christian Paradis, For His Outstanding Contribution To The Region

March 31, 2008

THETFORD MINES (Quebec) – The Hon. Christian Paradis, member of Parliament for Mégantic--L'Érable and Secretary of State (Agriculture), is proud to announce that Donat Grenier is the first recipient of the medal awarded by the member of Parliament for Mégantic—L’Érable, Christian Paradis, for his outstanding contribution to the region.

The medal was presented to Mr. Grenier by Mr. Paradis at a sugar cabin dinner organized by Mr. Paradis, held on Sunday, March 30, 2008, at the Club Aramis in Thetford Mines. The event (sugar cabin dinner and supper) drew a crowd of about 1,000 people, and the profits will be used to help fund work on the church in Black Lake.

“Year after year, for over 20 years, in one event after another, we have seen that everything Donat Grenier is involved in becomes a huge success. This extraordinary man has an uncommon ability to bring large numbers of people together in common and beneficial causes. I am therefore pleased to award him the first medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to our region and to thank him, on behalf of the entire population of Mégantic-L'Érable, for the wonderful volunteer work he does,” Mr. Paradis said.

Mr. Grenier was recognized after Mr. Paradis announced that he would be recognizing individuals in Mégantic—L’Érable who had made outstanding contributions to the region. The awards were initially instituted by his Conservative predecessor, the Hon. Marcel Masse, and were very much appreciated by people in the region, and so after numerous people raised it with him, Mr. Paradis decided to bring back the awards.