A civilian employee at the Thompson RCMP detachment was recognized in September for her professionalism at work and the contributions she makes to her community in her free time as one of 123 recipients from across Canada of a 2018 Public Service Award of Excellence.
Nelly Duarte, who who works for the RCMP ’s “D” Division Major Crime Unit North, was lauded for exemplary dedication, tenacity and courage in the face of high levels of homicides and complex crimes in the award announcement on the federal government website.
“Her unwavering optimism and many professional contributions raise unit morale, and her example empowers her peers and other youth in the community to strive for their own personal level of excellence,” said the announcement.
Duarte was one of four recipients in the exceptional young public servant category and was nominated by Cpl. Stacey Gervin of the Major Crime Unit North.
“She knows about my involvement in the community and that’s a big part of why she wanted to do it,” Duarte says. “I feel very valued at work and the work stuff that I do but the fact that she recognized my community involvement was really cool. It’s an honour to be recognized. She’s somebody that I respect immensely. She’s a role model to me. To have someone that you see that way recognize you and admire the work that you do, it’s pretty awesome and I’m just really grateful.”
The awards were handed out at a ceremony in Ottawa by Michael Wernick, clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the cabinet. Meeting him and the other award winners was a memorable experience for Duarte.
“I was right in the front row so I had a chance to see everybody go up and accept their awards,” said Duarte. “it was really neat to see what public servants do around Canada. It was just really an eye-opening experience to really see the value of the public service because it’s something that we don’t talk about as much."
As an added bonus, Duarte lived in Ottawa before moving to Thompson a couple of years ago.
“That just kind of made that even that much more special,” she says.
The volume of volunteer opportunities available in Thompson for a newcomer like her helped win her the award, says Duarte, who contributes her time to the Terry Fox Run, Pride North of 55 and Operation Red Nose.
“I really see Thompson as this land of opportunity because I moved here when i was so young and I’m able to be involved in so many things,” she said. “As the president of Operation Red Nose, that’s unheard of probably in other places. I give a lot of credit to Thompson and the opportunities that are here because all of these things that I was nominated for are for things I’ve been involved in in the community. And I’m not involved in them to win or be recognized, but rather to make our community a better place."
And while she doesn’t work or volunteer for recognition such as this, she says it does reinforce that she’s on the right path.
“It gave me kind of a fresh motivation,” Duarte said.
