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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A Yellowknife woman has been chosen to receive one of 60 inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals.

Gail Cyr poses outside the office of St. John Ambulance, which nominated her for an award celebrating volunteer work and achievement. Cyr is one of 60 Canadians selected to receive the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at Rideau Hall.

Governor General David Johnston will present Gail Cyr with her medal at a Rideau Hall ceremony in Ottawa today.

"It feels ... it's amazing," said Cyr on Thursday. "I feel pretty special."

Cyr is being honoured for her longtime volunteer work with St. John Ambulance, a charitable organization dedicated to providing first aid and CPR training, as well as other services, in communities across Canada. Cyr, who currently sits on the organization's board of directors for the Council of the NWT and Nunavut, estimated she had provided about 10 years of service to St. John Ambulance.

The Diamond Jubilee medals commemorate the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne on Feb. 6 1952 and, according to the office of the secretary to the Governor General, "will serve to honour contributions and achievements made by Canadians, who represent the full breadth of our society."

Over the course of the year, 60,000 Canadians will be recognized for their efforts.

Christine Armstrong, the director of community services for St. John Ambulance in the NWT and Nunavut, said Cyr is "really passionate in her vision of us reaching out to the communities and developing community partnerships that allow community members to be trained as volunteers, to be trained in that first aid and to be able to give back."

In fall 2011, St. John Ambulance trained 15 Deline residents to be advanced medical first responders, capable of assisting the community's nursing station. In communities lacking extensive medical services, "you just need all extra hands that you can get sometimes," said Cyr, who was inspired to join St. John Ambulance more than two decades ago after witnessing a man stop breathing in the midst of a large group of people.

"I heard somebody say 'Are you OK,' and I looked and I went, 'Oh my god, this man is dying,'" Cyr recalled. Though she had some basic medical training and was able to help, "in order to sort of deal with fear and that confidence level I decided I was going to go and get some proper training," she said. "I've used it again and again and again."

Neither Cyr nor Armstrong know who nominated Cyr, but Armstrong said the nomination would have been made at the national level rather than the council level.

Cyr was unaware of her nomination and when she received an e-mail notifying her that she had been chosen as a medal recipient two weeks ago, she initially overlooked it.

"It was kind of this little e-mail that came through my work desk and it said, 'You were nominated' and I just sort of went, 'Oh, OK, yeah,' and just sort of went on. And then I was reviewing stuff from the day and I looked at it again and I really read through it and I went, 'Oh my god! It's more than a nomination.'"

Armstrong said Cyr's dedication is characteristic of St. John Ambulance volunteers in the North.

"It's just such a generous community. It really is," she said. "I'm so proud to be with volunteers like that. It makes my job such a pleasure and joy. It's phenomenal that the North was honoured for St. John. We're just so proud."

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