Senator Bert Brown travelled to Innisfail July 17 to hand deliver a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal to recipient Gerald Kemp.
“I was quite amazed they would think of little old me,” said Kemp, smiling. He grew up and lived in the area as a dairy farmer. He has since retired and sold his farm to his children and now lives in town.
“He's a very generous individual and has worked hard all of his life,” said Brown of why Kemp was chosen as one of 60,000 Canadians to receive the medal.
The medal was created to mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne. The medal is meant to honour those who have made a significant contribution to a particular province, region or community within Canada.
“He's done a great deal of work for his community for the Co-op, both there in Innisfail and federated,” said Brown. “He represented federated from the Co-op there from what I understand.”
Kemp has been a member of the Innisfail and District Co-operative Association, now known as the Central Alberta Co-op Association, since 1955 and served as a director between 1964 and 1996.
He was a delegate with the Federated Co-operatives from 1972 to 1977 before becoming a director, a position he held until 1997.
Kemp is also known for his 16 years working as first a director and then chairman for the Goldeye Foundation, that offers a youth camp outside of Nordegg as well as being part of the Canadian Agri-Cultural Association.
He said every year two agriculture exchange students would come to the dairy farm and stay for six months. His favourite memory is when a woman from France and a man from New Zealand came to their farm and fell in love. Kemp said the two married and now have three children.
