A prominent member of the local Muslim community, a former Ontario Green Party candidate, and the field manager of the London Majors are among 14 people receiving top honours from London's mayor.
Josh Morgan released his 2023 Mayor’s New Year’s Honour List on Saturday. The annual list recognizes significant contributions to the city in a variety of different categories. Recipients are selected by city council on the recommendation of advisory committees or community organizations, through the city’s standing committees.
The 2023 honourees and their respective categories are as follows:
Ashton Forrest – Accessibility Beverly Farrell – Age Friendly Karen Schindler – Arts Edward Medzon – Distinguished Londoner Jason Rip – Distinguished Londoner Sydney Vickers – Distinguished Londoner Joe Cardillo – Distinguished Londoner Charlene Doak-Gebauer – Distinguished Londoner Padre Frank Mantz – Distinguished Londoner Carl Cadogan – Diversity and Race Relations Tom Cull – Environment John Manness – Heritage Nawaz Tahir – Humanitarianism Roop Chanderdat – Sports
“These individuals truly represent the best of London. While they seek neither praise nor attention for their efforts, they are undeniably worthy of both recognition and celebration,” Morgan said in a statement. “Those being honored this year have made our community better in a multitude of ways, not the least of which is their ability to inspire Londoners through acts of kindness and goodwill.”
The Mayor’s annual Honour List was created in 1976. It originally only recognized those who had made contributions to the arts. Additional categories including diversity & race relations, environment, heritage, housing, humanitarianism, persons with disabilities, age friendly, and sports have been added since 1989.
In 2019, council created the "distinguished Londoner” category, which at the time allowed for as many as four Londoners who have made significant contributions to London through acts of goodwill, community collaboration, and volunteerism to be honoured in a year. Earlier this year, council voted to increase the yearly number from four to six.