The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal was presented to a number of deserving community members Tuesday afternoon. Medals were presented for volunteerism, public service, protective service, military service, social service and more.  

One of the recipients, though, managed to catch the attention of nearly everyone in attendance. Standing apart from the other recipients, but just as deserving of the recognition, was 12-year-old Sophie Pollock.  

The youngest of all the recipients in Weyburn, and one of, if not the, youngest recipient of the medal in the entire province, Pollock was recognized for her volunteerism, and her efforts to raise money for The Huntington's Society of Canada dating back to 2020 when she was 9.  

Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan had called Pollock earlier in the month to let her know that she would be receiving the medal.  

“I was really happy and just really proud of what I’d done,” Pollock said, describing her reaction to the phone call.

In 2020, Pollock started a fundraiser, selling handmade keychains to raise money for The Huntington's Society of Canada. The fundraiser captured the attention of the entire province. Even Premier Scott Moe proudly displayed the keychain he had purchased through the fundraiser. At the end of the campaign, she had raised $6,460.71. This was matched by an anonymous donor, equalling $12,921.42. 

“Certainly, we recognize a number of people from across the constituency and across the province that, you know, this is a culmination of many decades of service and sacrifice and dedication to their community and dedication to their neighbours,” said Duncan. “But certainly, for somebody like Sophie, that is probably among the younger of the recipients across the province, not only to recognize what she's already doing at a young age, and hopefully an encouragement for her to keep going, but also an encouragement for other young people.” 

The words of praise for Pollock also came from Weyburn Mayor Marcel Roy. 

“It again shows that the spirit of the community that flows right from some of the more older ones, like Myron Fletcher, all the way down through Mal Barber, all the way down to Sophie Pollock, and that just shows we've got a great cross-cut of a community,” Roy added. “It's not just the older and the middle-aged people leading, but even the youth that are leading our community.” 

For Pollock herself, she was honoured to be in the company she was in during the investiture ceremony. 

“It was really exciting to be with a lot of people who have done really great things,” she stated. “Just to know that I am part of that.” 

While she is now a recipient of one of the most prestigious honours in the province, she will be going back to just being a regular kid. But, she added that she will now have a little bit of bragging rights with her friends and classmates for years to come.  

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