Kinngait rec director proud to earn national leadership award

Kinngait’s 24-year-old recreation director says she’s proud to be recognized for her work in the community with a national leadership award.

Joanne Weedmark was named the winner of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association’s Emerging Leader of the Year award earlier this week at a national conference in St. John’s, N.L.

Weedmark has worked as Kinngait’s recreation director for just over a year, following the departure of the previous director.

Before she took on the position, the community did not have a lot going on as far as recreation services, she said.

Over the past year, though, Weedmark has been able to get several programs going with help from other community members and funding from the Recreation and Parks Association of Nunavut.

“It’s definitely something, not only for myself but for the municipality of Kinngait, for the community,” she said. “It’s something to be proud about, for sure.”

Since becoming director, she has overseen a mix of athletic and cultural programs in Kinngait such as bowling, pool tournaments, elders’ dinners, and arts and craft events for people of all ages. Programs were a mix of in-person and online, due to COVID-19.

Weedmark said bringing people together for recreational activities has greatly benefited her community.

“I’m looking forward to another year of bigger accomplishments,” she said.

“There’s a lot of funding opportunities, and there’s a lot of organizations that can partner well with the recreation field here in Nunavut. There’s so much support out there.”

Dawn Currie, executive director of the Recreation and Parks Association of Nunavut, said Weedmark’s award is well-deserved.

She described her as a rising star among many other young Nunavut leaders, whose work is helping bring positive change and new opportunities to Kinngait.

“We’re really proud of Joanne,” Currie said. “I was ecstatic when we learned that she was going to be the recipient, because she earned it.”