20 April 2021

Celebrating Easter Seals™ National Volunteer Awards 2021

We are delighted to announce that the 2021 National Volunteer Award for Saskatchewan is going to Bruno Konecsni!

Bruno Konecsni joined the Board of Easter Seals Saskatchewan-SaskAbilities 17 years ago.  For almost two decades, Bruno has been a strong supporter of the work we do.  He has taken on many roles, including serving as President. Bruno truly embodies the values of our organization demonstrating respect, honesty and compassion in all his dealings with staff members and clients. His significant contributions to enriching the lives of children and adults with disabilities include a strong voice for good governance and accountability, a focus on teamwork, and supporting clients to achieve their goals.

Even before Bruno joined the Board of Easter Seals Saskatchewan-SaskAbilities, he was a long-time supporter of Easter Seals programs via his connections the Draggins Rod & Custom Car Club.  Through their annual car show, the Draggins Rod & Custom Car Club promotes and supports Camp Easter Seal. As a member of the Club, Bruno assisted in raising over $2,000,000 in funding for Camp Easter Seal. He has worked tirelessly over the years to plan and promote the annual show.  Donations from the Club have been used to build modern accessible cabins, support and maintain an accessible swimming pool, and build other recreation and storage facilities.

Board and staff members at Easter Seals Saskatchewan-SaskAbilities are proud to support Bruno’s nomination for the Easter Seals National Volunteer Award. Bruno has earned the respect of all of us and we often look to him for advice and a listening ear. His calm demeanor is reassuring in challenging times – many times we say “let’s ask Bruno”.

Thank you, Bruno for all you do to support children and adults experiencing disability. We are grateful for your contributions to Camp Easter Seal and SaskAbilities.

My awareness of Camp Easter Seal and SaskAbilities began as a member of the Draggins Rod and Custom Car Club. Every Easter weekend, the Club produces a car show with the proceeds going to Camp Easter Seal. As my involvement in this fundraising activity grew, so did my knowledge of the work of SaskAbilities. Soon, I saw that the vision and mission of SaskAbilities, along with the dedication and commitment of the employees and the directors to assist others, was a wonderful fit for how I wanted to give back to our community.

I decided to become involved in a more impactful way by volunteering my time and by sharing my life experience as a member of the Board of Directors. Over the years, I have seen the work of SaskAbilities inspire positive changes in the lives of people experiencing a disability. I identify these life changing events as miracles because of the utterly profound way in which clients were empowered to achieve their goals and contribute in a very meaningful way to the broader community.

The outcomes from my time on the Board are not singular in direction. As I met more clients and employees, I learned more about their needs and together, we developed effective strategies to meet them. At the same time, we also worked toward our mutual goal of achieving self-fulfillment. This is very rewarding for me and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing organization. – Bruno Konecsni