Older Islanders Celebrated with Senior Islander of the Year Award
Ten PEI residents were recognized today – on the International Day of Older Adults – for their outstanding contributions to the province at the Senior Islander of the Year Award ceremony.
The Senior Islander of the Year Award was created to celebrate the many contributions of Island seniors, and to promote positive images of aging. Past recipients have been recognized for a variety of efforts including community activities and engagement, volunteering, fundraising, education, research, fitness, and recreation.
“These older Islanders have spent the better part of their lives working to make a positive contribution to their home communities. Their tireless efforts have made Prince Edward Island a better place to live, and I offer sincere congratulations and thanks for everything they’ve done to improve the lives of Islanders.”
— Minister of Social Development and Seniors, Barb Ramsay
This year’s winners include:
- Betty Dougan, East Royalty
- Daria Valkenburg, Albany
- Honourable Diane Griffin, Stratford
- Don Reid, Summerside
- Kit Loschiuk, Freeland
- Eileen LeClair, Summerside
- Estelle Bourgeois, North Rustico
- John Rousseau, Mount Vernon
- Dr. Umesh Gupta, Charlottetown
- Velma Bince, O’Leary
“These ten Islanders are incredibly deserving of this recognition after having spent years working to make this province a better place to live. We have a record number of award recipients in 2025, which I see as a testament to the joy and satisfaction people can achieve knowing they are making a positive contribution to their community. I sincerely want to congratulate the recipients of this award and thank them for the many contributions they have made in their respective communities and across Prince Edward Island.”
— Chair of the PEI Seniors’ Secretariat Peter Holman
To learn more about the Senior Islander of the Year Award, and to see a full list of past winners, visit: https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/service/pei-senior-islander-of-the-year-award
Media contact:
Andrew Sprague
Department of Social Development and Seniors
asgsprague@gov.pe.ca
Backgrounder
2025 Senior Islander of the Year Award Winners
Betty Dougan – East Royalty
Betty worked in the healthcare field for 52 years and after retiring she is still contributing her time and compassion to ensure that Islanders are well cared for within the system.
Over the past 5 years, Betty has been volunteering for Hospice PEI, QEH Cancer Treatment Centre, Palliative Care, and doing respite for individual seniors in the community. Betty’s volunteer efforts range from work at admitting desks, greeting families who are visiting family members in Palliative Care, making patients comfortable during their cancer treatments, to baking delicious treats for patients and families.
Betty approaches all these situations with kindness, grace, and compassion. She is a champion for all older adults.
Daria Valkenburg – Albany
Daria’s involvement with Hear PEI, a volunteer organization that works to build awareness of hearing loss issues, is endless. She is the co-president of this group and volunteers tirelessly to make public places more accessible for the hard of hearing through technology.
She was instrumental in coordinating the training of 2 installers for the hearing loop technology which is installed at various locations across the province.
Her blog, ‘The Aural Report’ as well as the ‘Hearing Challenges’ column in the County Line Courier newspaper help to reach an even wider audience.
Daria was instrumental in the research connected to the On the War Memorial Trail Research Project, along with her husband, which included putting a face on every name on the cenotaph at the Borden-Carleton Legion. Her book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten’ documented a war memorial tour in Europe to visit the graves and memorials of these men, a trip that took them through 4 countries over 6 weeks and 7,000 km.
She has also dedicated her time to writing, in the On the War Memorial Trail blog and newspaper column, about the untold stories of brave Canadians who served in the two World Wars.
These stories have not only brought families together but have also served to educate many generations to the courageous sacrifices of these brave Canadians. Over the past years, her efforts have been recognized both here at home and in The Netherlands.
Honourable Diane Griffin – Stratford
Diane has contributed to her community in various capacities with organizations such as the Rotary Club of Charlottetown, Seniors College of PEI, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Community Foundation of PEI, Wildlife Conservation Fund of PEI, and others.
Diane supports a wide range of causes throughout the community from environmental work to showing her dance moves at the Hospice PEI’s Dancing with the Stars 2022 edition.
Diane is passionate about so many causes and endeavors and enjoys contributing to them in any way she can. This could be through her participation as a board member, a member of various committees, fundraising, giving lectures or field trips on natural history, participating in bird counts, and serving as a CBC Spin Time DJ to promote literacy.
And of course, we are all aware of her leadership ability to put PEI on the map through her work nationally and internationally, especially through her work as a Canadian Senator. She currently serves as Chair of the Health PEI Board of Directors and as the 10th Chancellor of UPEI.
Don Reid – Summerside
Don is a life-long volunteer in the Summerside area who has dedicated his life to assisting organizations in his community.
He has been involved with the Lions Club of Summerside since 2017 and continues to give his time to the many activities at the Club.
Don is also very active with Safe Summerside Inc where he is the Chairman of the Board and helps make the community a safe place for all, especially the older adult population. Don’s passion is ensuring Summerside and other communities have a focus on being age friendly. He just recently stepped down from his role of Secretary/Treasurer of Age Friendly PEI.
He volunteers with Life House Women’s Shelter to lead the Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser which raises money to help support housing for women and children in crisis.
A significant endeavor of Don’s was the Heritage Park Relocation project. When the mini home park was closing, he worked with the residents to ensure a positive relocation.
Don works with the Chinese Culture Federation and actively champions the Asian Community integration into Summerside while assisting with necessary resources. His tireless efforts were instrumental in establishing the inaugural PEI Asian Heritage Month celebration in Summerside.
Don continues to volunteer his time on important projects with The Lest We Forget Committee, as well as service clubs, historical preservation societies, and senior serving organizations.
Kit Loschiuk – Freeland
Kit’s outgoing personality and willingness to help others has made her a beloved member of her community and an inspiration to community members with her cheerful enthusiasm and remarkable energy.
Kit volunteers at schools, for organizations, at her church, equine programs, and visits residents at the Stewart Memorial Home a few times a month where she entertains the residents along with some other musical friends. She also sings in choirs, sews, fundraises, and is currently learning to play the guitar.
Kit volunteers for an Equine Assisted Learning Program at the Grand River Ranch. She sits on the Intergenerational Planning Committee that designs programs to assist older adults in Long Term Care, Community Care, and older community members to engage with horses again to recapture or make new memories.
Kit rarely misses a Saturday night ceilidh in West Prince where she will be found selling the 50/50 fundraising tickets.
Kit was also a volunteer knitter for the Kuddles for Kids group in Summerside who distributed teddy bears to children in need around the world until the program ended 4 years ago. She also continues to knit mittens to donate to local children’s groups.
Eileen LeClair – Summerside
Eileen volunteers at both the Harbourfront Theatre and the College of Piping in Summerside.
She has been delivering food to older adults through Meals on Wheels for many years and when making her deliveries she offers support and companionship.
She also ensures students attending local schools have access to a healthy breakfast through the school breakfast program.
Her love for ensuring people have access to food is also seen through her work with the St. Vincent Du Paul Foodbank at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Summerside. Here she helps provide much needed food to individuals and families.
23 years ago, Eileen became involved in the “Silent Witness Program” as the Program Coordinator. The aim of this program is to stop violence against women. Eileen sets up displays and does presentations at schools and for community groups.
Estelle Bourgeoius – North Rustico
Estelle is an energic member of the Star of the Sea Senior Club in North Rustico who is always baking and making sure the “Coffee Break” at the Club on Tuesdays come off without a hitch!!
She is a faithful member of her church and ensures the senior bowling team is ready to win their league in the fall and winter seasons.
She selflessly devotes her time to members of her community who need assistance in various ways. She is there to visit community members who are in the hospital or living in long-term care facilities.
She is still roaming the community by helping the residents of North Rustico pick up prescriptions at the pharmacy, taking them to church with her, taking them shopping, or driving them to medical appointments.
And if you need a drive to an afternoon or evening event, such as a ceilidh, you can always count on Estelle to get you there.
John Rousseau – Mount Vernon
John has been the Board Chair of the Wood Islands & Area Development Corporation for much of the time since its inception in 1998. He is also a key organizer of the 70 Mile Coastal Yard Sale in Eastern PEI.
Through his commitment to this organization, the area now has the Wood Islands Market, the restoration of the replica Wood Islands train station and the refurbishment of the Wood Islands Lighthouse - to name a few of the projects. The Volunteer Board is also working on plans to re-establish the historic fishing village in Wood Islands.
Through all of this he has encouraged other volunteers through his inspiration and vision of the area and through the establishment of infrastructure to help make the Wood Islands Area a destination unto itself – not just a place to catch the ferry.
Dr. Umesh Gupta - Charlottetown
Dr. Gupta is a life-long scientist and researcher. He spent his working life conducting research in crop nutrition and soil fertilizer requirements of crops and has in his retirement life continued to spread his research message through published articles and presentations around the world ever since.
Dr. Gupta has now concentrated more of his work on human health and nutrition with special reference to plant-based foods and their effect on cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and dementia. He has also conducted research and wrote an article on the importance of potatoes in human nutrition.
Just recently, he delivered a presentation on “The Function of Vitamins for Human Health” for the Rotary Club of Charlottetown and the presentation will be aired on Eastlink for Island viewers in the coming weeks.
In between his continued research and public engagements, he has carved out time to be a dedicated volunteer for many community organizations such as the Rotary Club of Charlottetown, PEI Community School, International Friendship Association of PEI, and the Indo-Canadian Association of PEI.
Velma Bince – O’Leary
Hospice PEI in West Prince would be lost without the dedicated participation of Velma. She has been a steadfast volunteer for many years and has provided one-on-one compassionate support to many clients during their end-of-life journey. Within this role, she is involved with the flower delivery program at the hospitals, and participating in fundraisers like the Hike and Bike, and the Let Their Light Shine events.
She is also a board member for Community Inclusions Ltd. where she provides guidance and support to the organization and is a strong advocate for the population being served.
Velma also volunteers for the West Prince Caring Cupboard, Western Hospital, helps with the gardens at her local church, and is there to assist a neighbor in need of a drive for groceries or medical appointments.