A tribute to Charlie Coffey

Tuesday December 5: Charlie Coffey was in town to attend a reception in his honour. I first got to know Charlie Coffey when he was the regional director for the Royal Bank of Canada for Manitoba. Charlie stood out for his interest in community activities and in particular for his efforts with aboriginal people, with young people and with entrepreneurs.

Recently Charlie Coffey has been the Executive Vice PresidentGovernment Affairs & Business Development for the RBC Financial Group. Over the years Charlie has received many awards and honours including the Award of Distinction from the Public Affairs Association of Canada and the Humanitarian Award for Community Service from Yorktown Family Services (Toronto). ORT Toronto presented Coffey with its first annual "local hero in a global village" award in 2005. An Honourary Doctor of Laws degree was conferred upon Mr. Coffey by Trent University for his "extraordinary contributions to society through community leadership." Charlie Coffey was appointed an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2004 and received the 2004 National Child Day Award.

Charlie Coffey will continue to help with efforts to ensure the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is completed in Winnipeg. Thank you Charlie Coffey for all you have done.