'Non-stop Sister' receives Governor General's Polar Medal award
Sister Fay Trombley, who started Tuktoyaktuk's food bank and thrift store, was awarded the Governor General's Polar Medal in Victoria on Wednesday.
"I'm excited but also I feel like I'm carrying so many people with me to this occasion," Trombley said before the ceremony.
The Polar Medal was created in 2005, and is awarded to individuals in recognition of their extraordinary dedication to the North and its people.
In a statement released by the Governor General's office, Trombley is recognized for her role in addressing food insecurity in Tuktoyaktuk.
"By reinvigorating the food and clothing distribution centre, she demonstrated remarkable determination and leadership," the statement read.
"The success of this partnership has become a blueprint for multiple northern communities similarly struggling with food insecurity."
Trombley, a member of the Catholic Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception, moved to Tuktoyaktuk, a community of about 900, in 2005. She noticed right away that there was a need for both a food bank and thrift store.
She used her contacts — including those with the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul, a Catholic social agency — to gather support and funding.
'Non-stop Sister'
Tuktoyaktuk elder Jean Gruben was invited to the ceremony as Trombley's guest, to witness the event. Trombley says Gruben was part of the reason she ended up in Tuktoyaktuk.
"We didn't have any priests after the recent priest passed away," Gruben said.
Gruben says it was in the 1980s when she and her husband were trained to work at the church, but she asked the bishop if the diocese would send some nuns to help them.
"We had quite a few and then Sister Trombley was the last one here. She's so busy, she's a non-stop Sister," said Gruben.
"Our buildings were so run-down at that time and we couldn't find funding to rebuild them so she found funding from here and there, and there was a lot of people who helped her and helped us in the community bring the buildings back to brand-new."
Gruben says she helped nominate Trombley for the award, and says that Trombley has meant a lot to her and the community.
"I hope she stays many more years, and the people are very thankful for her. Spiritually, and she's adopted our culture, and is a hard worker."
