Davidson & Williams LLP is honoured to receive the "Pro Bono Leader in the Community Award" from the Pro Bono Law Alberta Board of Directors. Pro Bono Law Alberta (PBLA) is a charitable organization that promotes access to justice in Alberta by creating and promoting opportunities for lawyers to provide pro bono (free) legal services to persons of limited means. PBLA was formed in 2007 as the legacy project in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Law Society of Alberta.

The Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge coordinated by Community Futures would like to extend congratulations to the 2012 Grand Prize winners: Deerview Meats, from Irvine, AB.

Deerview Meats, owned and operated by the Deering family, is a provincially inspected meat abattoir located 19 km southeast of Medicine Hat. This gold status meat plant specializes in the processing of locally raised meats such as beef, bison, lamb and deer. Not only does Deerview Meats provide custom meat cutting services, they have a country retail meat store full of all your favorite homemade sausages, jerkys, pepperonis, and specialty meats. All of the meats processed at Deerview Meats are naturally aged and 100 per cent gluten free! For more information on Deerview Meats visit their website at www.deerviewmeats.com

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) awarded its 2012 Synapse Mentorship Award–Individual Researcher to Dr. Ute Kothe, an assistant professor in biochemistry at the University of Lethbridge.

The award, which is worth $5,000, is one three handed out nationally–and the U of L's first. It recognizes the efforts of a health researcher who has made exceptional efforts to promote health research among Canada's students.

A southern Alberta staffing and recruitment firm has been recognized on the national stage for its community service.

Earlier this month, SELECT People Solutions received the 2012 Community Service Award from the Association of Canadian Search, Employment & Staffing Services (ACSESS) at the national conference in Niagara Falls.

The University of Lethbridge is among nine Alberta employers that have been recognized for their commitment to improving the health of their employees through the fourth annual "Premier's Award for Healthy Workplaces" program.

Greer Home Builders of Lethbridge was named among Canada's best as members of the Canadian Home Builders' Association from across the country gathered in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec, for the 2012 National SAM Awards on Saturday night.

Aviva Canada Inc. is pleased to announce the recipients of the third Aviva Community Fund competition, and this year Canadians helped select 12 worthy ideas representing communities nationwide. A total of $1,000,000 will be awarded to these diverse local projects, including school yards in Ontario and Alberta, an animal rescue facility in British Columbia and a youth camp in Quebec, among others. This unique competition created by property and casualty insurer Aviva Canada aims to lead, empower and support community initiatives across the country.

"We're proud to be able to support such a great group of organizations in their efforts to improve communities across Canada," said Maurice Tulloch, President and CEO of Aviva Canada. "We'd like to thank our broker partners who stepped up and got involved in the competition this year, along with our vendors and all Canadians that supported the Aviva Community Fund."

Launched in September 2009, the Aviva Community Fund encourages Canadians to visit www.AvivaCommunityFund.org to share ideas and vote for causes that are meaningful to their communities. After several rounds of voting to identify Canada's favourite ideas, a panel of independent judges is tasked with reviewing the causes and selecting the winners.

One of those winners is from right here in Lethbridge! G.S. Lakie Convertible Theatre/Summer Arts Institute: Support from the Aviva Community Fund will allow G.S. Lakie Middle School to add lighting and other technical requirements to transform their multi-use foyer into a theatre to house summer arts programs, workshops and festivals for youth across Western Canada. The space can accommodate up to 700 spectators and is used by the school, various arts groups and the community at large.

Aviva Canada would like to thank the numerous community partners that contributed to the Aviva Community Fund this year including Abilities Foundation, Benevity, Canadian Mental Health Association, Child Welfare League of Canada, Diabetes Hope Foundation, Essential Accessibility, Food Banks Canada, Free The Children, Learning for a Sustainable Future, March of Dimes, National Alliance for Children and Youth, ParticipACTION, Psychology Foundation of Canada, Seeds Foundation and Volunteer Canada.