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Mission woman wins Program Assistant of the Year Award

Mission Skating Club’s Autumn Atkinson received award at Skate Canada’s BC/Yukon Section AGM
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Mission’s Autumn Atkinson won the Program Assistant of the Year award at the Skate Canada’s BC/Yukon Section AGM and awards evening. / Submitted Photo

Mission Skating Club’s Autumn Atkinson was awarded Program Assistant of the Year at the Skate Canada’s BC/Yukon Section AGM and awards evening.

This honour is awarded to an amateur coach who demonstrates an exceptional commitment to inspiring and helping young children learn to skate through the CanSkate program.

Autumn, who is 16, had an extraordinary amount of letters to support her nomination. She has a long list of volunteer activities and is noted by her club as completely reliable and a natural when it comes to helping skaters.

A week before, she had also received the Skate Canada’s BC Coast Region Program Assistant of the Year award.

According to a press release from the local skating club, Atkinson is “superb working with the club’s Special Olympic athletes and has a keen sensitivity as to how to provide each skater with just what they need at the moment they need it. Reading the emotion of others is critical to being able to help at the right time. She is a role model who helps and inspires other to embrace the joy of skating.”

“Volunteering has always been part of my life,” said Atkinson. “I do it to see the smile on the kids’ faces, they feel relieved and happy knowing they are being helped by someone who believes in them. Seeing children look up at me and saying ‘I want to be like you one day’ gives me pure joy knowing that I made a difference in their life.”