Medicine Hat Advocate Receives Public Interest Award

Evelyn Schuler recognized for years of advocating for health and environmentEDMONTON—Public Interest Alberta has selected Evelyn Schuler from Medicine Hat to receive this year’s Public Interest Award for Southern Alberta.The award will be presented in Calgary at 7:00 PM on April 10th at Parkdale United Church (2919 - 8 Avenue NW, Calgary), as part of Fighting for Our Future: People Power vs. Corporate Control, the keynote of Public Interest Alberta’s conference. In addition to the award ceremony, the event will feature a keynote talk with Linda McQuaig, Author of the Trouble with Billionaires; Crystal Lameman, Beaver Lake Cree Nation and Gregor MacLennan, Amazon Watch and Peas Peas Ayui, president of the National Achuar Federation of Peru (via video).Thanks to Alberta Views Magazine sponsorship of this year’s award, Evelyn will receive $750 to put towards an organization of her choice.The award is given to two individuals and/or organizations, one from Northern Alberta, and one from Southern Alberta, who are making an exemplary contribution in one or more of the following ways:

• effectively drawing public attention to the importance of preserving and enhancing an element of public services, public institutions, public spaces, the public good or the public interest.
• mobilizing support in one or more of the above areas.
• promoting effective cooperation among individuals and organizations in one or more of the above areas.
• working to strengthen Alberta’s public sphere and public interest in any other effective manner.

Evelyn Schuler has spent a lifetime caring for others. In addition to her achievements as a nurse and health-related advocate, she was nominated for her work with Friends of Medicare. In 2007, she became the Palliser region’s representative with Friends of Medicare’s provincial board and has served two terms. She has used her nursing background to provide perspective on seniors care in particular, and has been a part of the Medicine Hat General Hospital Alumnae for the past 60 years. She has also worked tirelessly for the health of the South Saskatchewan River. In the late 1960s, the frothiness of the river prompted her to start a consumer movement in Medicine Hat for phosphate-free soap. She rallied against the Old Man Dam in the 1980s, and later joined the Prairie River Stewards. She is a member of Greenpeace Alberta, Grasslands Naturalists, the Peace River Environmental Society, Partners of the South Saskatchewan River Basin and an executive member of the Medicine Hat NDP.-30-Media Contacts:Alison Van Dyke, Public Interest Alberta, Medicine Hat Mobilizer (403) 548-2829Evelyn Schuler (403) 504-1856