Illuminating the Alberta Order of Excellence

FRONT FLAP:Membership of The Alberta Order of Excellence is the highest honour the Province of Alberta can bestow on its citizens. Members of The Alberta Order of Excellence come from all walks of life-from medicine, science, engineering, law, and business to politics, education, agriculture, and the arts. The one thing all members have in common is that they have made an outstanding provincial, national, or international service contribution.Upon induction, each member of The Alberta Order of Excellence receives a hand-crafted scroll made by the celebrated calligrapher and illuminator, Cora Healy-Tobin. Illuminating The Alberta Order of Excellence is a fine tribute to Healy-Tobin's work and to the individuals who have done so much to improve the lives of Alberta's citizens. "[T]heir stories read as embodiments of the Alberta spirit: a great vision for the community, a singular determination, and the knowledge and ability to make that vision reality."-The Honourable Norman L. Kwong, CM, AOE, Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta"This book is a tribute to those individuals who have dedicated their lives to realizing the opportunities they saw to create better communities for so many Alberta citizens."-Premier Ed StelmachBACK FLAP:Allison Sivak is a librarian with the University of Alberta's Learning Services. She has a BFA (Writing) from the University of Victoria. She lives in Edmonton.Cora Healy-Tobin was born in Ireland. She is a graduate of Hornsey College of Art in London, England, where she majored in heraldic illuminated arts and calligraphy. Her works hang in the United States, Europe, Great Britain, Australia, and Canada. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.BACK COVER:Cora's Healy-Tobin's high artistic standards and her belief in community suggest that it is particularly fitting that she has spent the last quarter century paying tribute to those Albertans who have made key contributions to the social, economic, artistic, and political spheres of this province through The Alberta Order of Excellence scrolls. Cora has designed and illuminated the scrolls since the beginning of the Order, in 1981. In the first years of the awards, she would conduct an in-depth interview with each of the recipients, to gain a closer understanding of not only their achievements, but the recipients as individuals. When she talks about those whom she has interviewed, such as Dr. Robert J. Church and Francis Winspear, she reveals her deep respect for their accomplishments, but also for them as people. She speaks of their friendliness, their personableness, their humility. She says, "The calibre of the people was such that I felt it was an honour for me to design scrolls for them."-from the Introduction: The Work of Cora Healy-Tobin in ContextSivak, Allison is the author of 'Illuminating the Alberta Order of Excellence', published 2008 under ISBN 9780888644855 and ISBN 088864485X.