Honourary Lifetime Achievement Awards

The Honourary Lifetime Achievement Award is intended to recognize and honour a person whose lifetime commitment to handbell programs, to handbell ringing in general and exceptional service to Handbell Musicians of Canada (HMC,) formerly Handbell Guilds of Canada, has warranted recognition.

According to the Honourary Lifetime Achievement Award Policy which has been developed by HMC, the granting of an Honourary Lifetime Achievement Award in the organization is reserved “for those who have made outstanding contributions to the art of handbell ringing. This status is to be deemed the highest honour which the organization can bestow and is to be reserved for individuals of the highest calibre”.

All members of HMC, including former HGC provincial guilds and former HGC (now HMC) Honourary Lifetime Achievement members, may nominate any person(s) to be considered for this prestigious award.

The HMC board of directors has appointed the Chair-Elect to be the Convenor of the selection committee. Questions related to the process or criteria may be addressed to the Chair-Elect.

Completed nomination forms should be sent with any accompanying documentation to the Chair-Elect. If you need to send anything by post, please contact the Chair-Elect for a current mailing address.

Find the Honourary Lifetime Achievement Award Policy page here

Handbell Musicians of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Awarded by the newly elected HMC Board of Directors and HMC Interim Board of Directors November 22, 2020

Alison Elizabeth Wood received the Honourary Lifetime Achievement Award on November 22, 2020 during the virtual Joint Board meeting of newly elected HMC Board of Directors and HMC Interim Board of Directors. The award presentation citation for Alison Wood can be found here.

Handbell Guilds of Canada Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

AWARDED AT INTERNATIONAL HANDBELL SYMPOSIUM 2016, VANCOUVER BC

John Nelson, Sr. received the Honourary Lifetime Achievement Award ‘Builder Category’ at the opening Gala of IHS 2016 Vancouver. Alison Wood, founding member of HGC, gave the speech and Patsy Andrews-Vert, Chair of HGC, presented the award which was accepted by John Nelson, Jr. in memory of his father. The award presentation speech can be found here.

Awarded at Ringing Link 2011, Calgary AB

Fred A. Merrett, Clifford Plume, and Carol Petrie were the first three recipients of the Handbell Guilds of Canada Honourary Lifetime Achievement Award. Anne Hill, HGC Chair, and Alison Wood, HGC founding member, presented the awards at the final massed ringing concert performance of Ringing Link 2011. The award presentation speeches for each of the recipients can be found here.