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Len Hopkins, former chairman of the Ottawa River Heritage Designation Committee, will be honoured posthumously for his tireless work on the project.
His wife Lois and children Doug and Sherri will attend the fifth annual Canadian River Heritage Conference in Winnipeg next week, where Mrs. Hopkins will accept the Award of Merit on her late husband’s behalf.
“This is very much an honour because Len put hours and hours of work into this,” she said Friday. “He would have felt absolutely honoured because this certainly was his big interest after he retired.”
Mr. Hopkins died Feb. 6 before his dream of having the Ottawa River designated a Heritage River could be realized. Mrs. Hopkins will accept the award during the gala awards banquet June 12, which would have been Mr. Hopkins’ 77th birthday.
“It’s going to be a very difficult evening,” she said, choking back tears. “He (Len) would want me to do this.”
In the past, Mr. Hopkins was recognized for “his inspiration and leadership in celebrating the heritage values of the Ottawa River, one of Canada’s most beloved rivers.”
The tribute went on: “In particular for the heartfelt way he reached out to people, nurturing the public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the river, its heritage, its symbolism and its significance to Canada.”
The committee of enthusiastic volunteers, including chairman Larry Graham, continues its work to secure the heritage river designation. The background study was presented to the Canadian Heritage River System, the federal body that oversees the designations, last year. Provincial approval was also received and the committee is patiently waiting for a response from Environment Minister John Baird before it can submit its heritage strategy, outlining how it will maintain the integrity of the river after the designation is achieved.
The plan was completed about nine months ago in the hopes the designation would be achieved by September 2007.
“We have been in absolute limbo for a year,” Mr. Graham said.
He noted Mr. Hopkins deserves all of the honours being bestowed upon him, but it is unfortunate he didn’t have an opportunity to see the process through to completion.
tpeplinskie@thedailyobserver.ca