A pillar of Stony Plain simply acquired a bit stronger.
On Friday, Nov. 4, the City of Stony Plain named Greg Hanna the fifth recipient of its Award of Inventive Excellence. The annual award celebrates people, organizations, non-profits, and companies contributing to social and cultural cohesion, neighborhood identification, inventive financial sustainability, and native tourism.
“I undoubtedly didn’t anticipate this. I really feel very privileged to get this honour as a result of there are a lot of good folks in Stony Plain who’re possible higher candidates than me. This neighborhood has carried out lots for me over time and I wished to present one thing again which is why I began volunteering and it simply so occurred to be doing the mural excursions,” mentioned Hanna.
The distinguished award was introduced to Hanna on the Chamber of Commerce Enterprise Awards of Distinction on Thursday, Nov. 3. Annually, nominations for the Award of Inventive Excellence are open to the neighborhood and the choice course of is carried out by the City’s Cultural Roundtable. This 12 months’s nominees included The Complete Scoop, Gerry Levasseur, and finalists Donna Cowan and Greg Hanna.
Know because the “City Ambassador” and native mural knowledgeable, Hanna has devoted numerous hours to operating mural excursions and sharing the neighborhood’s story with each residents and guests since 2010. He’s a proud Stony Plain resident of 52 years who discovered the significance of appreciating historical past from his father. His work has been integral to selling native tourism and guaranteeing guests depart the neighborhood with newfound information and admiration for Stony Plain’s heritage.
“The mural program is an integral facet of Stony Plain’s identification and performs a key function in establishing Stony Plain as a vacationer vacation spot within the area. Greg Hanna’s work in selling not solely the murals themselves however the historical past behind every one is such a present. We’re excited to have the ability to present our appreciation for his dedication to the neighborhood with this 12 months’s Award of Inventive Excellence,” mentioned Chantelle Laberge, Tradition and Tourism Improvement Officer, City of Stony Plain.
The City’s in depth public artwork assortment has made Stony Plain an artwork and tradition vacation spot in Alberta. Its 40-plus murals courting again to 1990 are positioned all through downtown and surrounding areas and have been created by 23 totally different artists from throughout Canada.
Presently, the City is endeavor the event of a five-year Public Artwork Technique. This technique will mirror each the historical past and way forward for the neighborhood and embrace an general imaginative and prescient and advisable motion plan. Public engagement alternatives had been undertaken from Aug. 15 to Sept. 15; the technique can be accomplished by the top of 2022.
“These murals aren’t simply fairly footage. There’s a story behind each certainly one of them. There’s an terrible lot to be taught by wanting on the previous and seeing how our neighborhood started and the way it continues to develop,” mentioned Hanna.
