Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Sep 07/01) - It's a meritorious year for RCMP Sgt. Bill Eubank.

Next month he'll be heading to the University of Calgary, his alma mater, where he'll be honoured with the Distinguished Alumni award.

Sgt. Bill Eubank, of Fort Simpson, has been named to the Order of St. John, and he's been chosen as a Distinguished Alumni by the University of Calgary. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

The tribute puts him in the company of a NASA flight surgeon, a medical epidemiologist, university deans and presidents, a provincial court judge and many other noteworthy figures.

"My reaction was, 'Who is this, really,' but they seemed quite adamant about it," Eubank said of the initial phone call from a university official in March. "To be honest with you I thought they'd have sober reflection and pick somebody else."

He realized there would be no other when a photographer showed up to get official photos, and a biography was written detailing his accomplishments.

With a physical education degree ('74) and an education degree ('82) under his belt, he'll now have a bursary named in his honour.

"I feel like I'm dead," he joked.

That won't be the end of Eubank's travels to award ceremonies. In November, he'll be in Ottawa to receive an Order of St. John medal from Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson. Eubank has been a first aid instructor for many years.

These distinctions will be among the many he has collected during his distinguished 23-year RCMP career. For instance, he received a citation for remaining calm under fire following a seven-month United Nations peacekeeping tour of the former Yugoslavia during the Balkans War.

Terry Vulcano, a former senior administrative officer in Fort McPherson, where Eubank was stationed prior to arriving in Fort Simpson, nominated Eubank for the Distinguished Alumni award. A fellow alum, Vulcano said Eubank contributed greatly to Fort McPherson by fixing bicycles for children, starting an ambulance society for the Dempster Highway and organizing house numbers for emergency purposes.

"Not only did he come up with a plan, he got the funding and trained some kids to do it," Vulcano recalled.

He added that he needed two other alumni to complete the nomination process, but easily found five others who were willing to support the nomination.