Norma Evelyn Selbie, Kelowna, British Columbia
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award
For over 10 years, Norma Selbie has provided invaluable service to students and health care professionals, and, more particularly, to those afflicted by Alzheimer's disease or related dementia and their families. Following her diagnosis in 1997, she has become a prolific and active contributor to the Alzheimer Society of British Columbia as well as a motivational speaker and mentor to others suffering from the disease. She has helped to launch the first early stage support groups in Kelowna and Victoria and brought about the creation of many more groups across Canada. She has become a nationally recognized advocate, inspiring others to fight the onset of the disease. She continues to travel across the country and abroad to speak at medical conferences, sharing her challenges and triumphs.