Oscars

Oscars. Academy Awards. Ellen. Phooey. I hadn't heard of even one of the movies that were nominated for Best Picture.

I have decided to make my own Oscar Awards.

Best performance before a wedding. Nominees include 5 staff. And... drum roll... the winner is, Melanie Van Herk! Yes, that's right. Of the 5 nominees she has kept her head on, accomplished her work, and continued forward in perseverance!


Best supporting role of a front line worker for 2006. Lots of nominees here, and honourable mentions are many. But the Oscar goes to one man who has withstood the most change over the past year, and has come out, not only unscathed, but ahead! The winner is George McKenzie! He has seen his former home and workplace hit the dust (literally) and nearly found himself homeless. The Souls Harbour Soup Kitchen came to the rescue, and George helped fix up a space on their second floor. He moved the guests over and now lives there and looks after the least, the last, and the lost of our Mens Emergency Shelter.


Biggest sacrifice. Imagine quitting your job and selling your home. Downsizing it in half or less than half. Now imagine moving in with 9 women. Not your ordinary women, either! The movie is much harsher than that. It is women who sell themselves for one last hit. It is women who, despite the threat of losing their child, party all night. It is women on methadone. And women coming off of crytal meth. This years biggest sacrifice award goes to Jack and Paula Katzberg!


Best team player of 2006. This Oscar goes to Donovan and Bonnie Carroll, who saw a bigger vision and future for Souls Harbour, and eagerly, but with trepidation, appoached us on a merger venture. After the loss of Donovan's mother, the founding director of the soup kitchen, this wasn't an easy step. But it represented vision and cooperation for us all. Congratulations!


Oscar for lead visionary. Well, who could have imagined in seven short years owning a beautiful facility outright, having another one built for you by three levels of government, merging with the best known soup kitchen in town, starting an inner city church, leading a successful LifeChange recovery program, and offering emergency help of food and clothing to homeless and hurting individuals. This years Oscar for lead visionary definately goes to our CEO, Rev Ken Porter.




I'd like to thank the team, the Queen, my family, the Academy, and most of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.