From the Branches
ARTA Volunteer of the Year Award
Terry Whitehead | President , SWARTA
With many wonderful members in our branch , choosing just one member for the ARTA Volunteer of the Year award was challenging . Congratulations to Valeria Lazzaretto !
During a forty-year teaching career with the Holy Spirit School District , while raising three children , Val has been a volunteer musician with the Lethbridge Symphony for the past fiftytwo years ! Playing in the Lethbridge Symphony has allowed her to maintain a level of expertise on the violin because in her words , “ Preparing for concerts does force one to practice !” Making personal connections with other musicians and likeminded individuals has been of great benefit and she considers the decades as a volunteer musician to be a major highlight in her life .
This involvement also led to other musical endeavours , and over the years Val has served on the executive of the Carl Orff Society , played ( in the pit orchestras ) for numerous Lethbridge Musical Theatre and other productions , assisted with several high school musicals , and volunteered with the Lethbridge String Youth Program . Currently she is on the Board of Directors for the Lethbridge and District Music and Speech Arts Festival Society .
Outside the realm of music , Val completed several terms as president for the Hungarian Cultural Society of Southern Alberta and continues to volunteer in various capacities with them as well as the Hungarian Old-Timers ’ Society . Presently she is on the executive for St . Basil ’ s Catholic Women ’ s
Terry Whitehead , Vaughan Coupland , and Valeria Lazzaretto
League and serves in several church ministries regularly . When time allows ( beyond providing some care for grandchildren and elderly relatives ), Val helps out with casinos , bingos , ceremonies and special events for a few other local societies , assists with yard maintenance for the L ’ Arche Home in her neighbourhood , and sometimes even manages to offer homemade baking when needed .
We are so fortunate to have Val as one of our members !
Thank you to Vaughan Coupland for presenting the award on our behalf and to ARTA for supporting the branches with this award .
12 | arta . net DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE