City launches new Community Recognition Awards
The City of Spruce Grove is pleased to introduce the Community Recognition Awards, a new initiative celebrating the outstanding people and organizations who make a difference in our community.
Recognizing achievements and contributions from the previous year, the annual awards are designed to shine a spotlight on the people who make Spruce Grove a welcoming, connected, and vibrant community, and nominations are now open.
Community Recognition Awards are awarded in five categories:
- Volunteer of the Year
- Youth of the Year
- Senior of the Year
- Service Club of the Year
- Citizen Achievement of the Year
This new awards program was identified as a priority in City Council’s 2026-2029 Strategic Plan, under the Building Community theme to celebrate and strengthen community pride, engagement, and connection.
“Building community is about much more than just the places we live, work and gather. It’s about the people who bring us together, help us feel connected and make us proud to call Spruce Grove home,” said Mayor Jeff Acker. “The Community Recognition Awards give us a chance to celebrate those people and organizations, and the difference they make. I encourage everyone to think about someone who deserves recognition and take the time to nominate them.”
The Community Recognition Awards complement the City’s existing Awards of Excellence, which recognize individuals or groups of individuals who have made significant contributions to the City of Spruce Grove and achieved national and/or international recognition in one of six categories: Athletics, Arts, Education, Environment, Innovation and Community Service. Category updates for Awards of Excellence include the removal of the former Significant Achievement category (this does not impact those inductees who were previously recognized in this category), while the new Citizen Achievement award in the Community Recognition Awards provides an opportunity to recognize noteworthy accomplishments from the past year.
While the Community Recognition Awards and the Awards of Excellence continue to operate as separate and distinct awards programs, each providing a variety of opportunities to recognize individuals and groups in our community, the nomination timelines are being aligned. Awards of Excellence nominations are open year-round but must now be submitted by December 15 to be considered for the current year’s awards (previously the submission deadline was April 30). Community Recognition Awards nominations open October 15 and must be submitted by December 15 to be considered for the current year’s awards. Award recipients will be honoured at a joint awards ceremony planned for the spring of 2027.
Find nomination forms and more information about the categories and nomination criteria for the Community Recognition Awards at sprucegrove.org/CRA and the Awards of Excellence at sprucegrove.org/AOE.