Baie-Saint-Paul Order of Merit 2021: Honoring Five Exceptional Personalities from Culture, Heritage, Sports, Business, Health, Education, and Development Sectors.

The Baie-Saint-Paul Order of Merit was awarded to five personalities from the culture and heritage, sports, business, health, education and development sectors.

In the culture and heritage sector, Marie-Renée Otis, an internationally recognized artist specializing in art embroidery, was honoured. His unique and distinctive works are inseparable from Baie-Saint-Paul. They have been presented in a dozen solo exhibitions and in more than fifty group exhibitions honoring his work all over the world.

The winner from the sports sector is Benoît Lavoie, a pioneer in figure skating, who has held various positions during his 45 years of involvement. He was the first Quebecer to climb the spheres of figure skating and to officiate at the world championships and then at the Olympic Games. He is also the only Quebecer to be elected to the presidency of Skate Canada and the first Quebecer elected to the vice-presidency of the International Skating Union.

In the business field, Stéphane Bouchard, co-founder of the Auberge La Maison Otis and creator of the Le Bistro song box, co-founder of the Iris Art Gallery and Rêves d’Automne, was selected. Founding president and director of the Association des Gens d’affaires de Baie-Saint-Paul, he was active on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce. He contributed to the creation of the Christmas Market and worked on the fundraising campaign for the burial of wires on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Street.

In the health sector, the honor went to Jocelyn Gilbert, a man of passion, who worked for the service and well-being of the population for thirty-five (35) years in medical imaging at the Bay Hospital -Saint-Paul, while exercising his second passion, artistic painting. He initiated and designed the “From yesterday to today” fresco, painted on the wall along the Gouffre river. He was a director of the Musée d’art contemporain de Baie-Saint-Paul for ten years; of the Baie-Saint-Paul Figure Skating Club for twenty years, including ten as president, and of the Caisse Populaire Desjardins for more than twenty-eight years. He was president of the Chasm Valley Conservation Association for over thirty years.

Finally, in the field of education and development, Diane Harvey, a woman of heart and assumed leadership, who worked in health and then in the socio-economic sector to finish in education received the distinction. Since 2006, she has sat on the Baie-Saint-Paul sustainable development committee. She was the first woman on the board of directors of Caisse Desjardins de Baie-Saint-Paul, which became du Fleuve et des Montagnes (Charlevoix) and Mouvement Desjardins as a director. As president of the caisse over the past twelve years, several initiatives have been supported for the benefit of the population of Baie-Saint-Paul.

“You are exceptional citizens who, each in your area of ​​expertise, have made Baie-Saint-Paul shine, whether on the local, regional, provincial, national or international scene. You are one of those exceptional people who inspire us with your actions and make us proud,” said Mayor Michaël Pilote in his opening speech at the ceremony.

The Order of Merit is the highest distinction awarded to a person who shines on the territory of Baie-Saint-Paul or on the national or international scenes, and this, in a sustained and important way.

The winners receive an honorary certificate, a medal and an exclusive pin stamped with the Order of Merit of Baie-Saint-Paul and sign the Town’s guestbook. In addition, the planting of a tree on which their name will be engraved will be carried out during the year.