2024:

The 2024 President’s Award recipient is well known to any member of the RASC who has been at all active at the national or Centre level at any time in the last half century. Randy, who joined the Society in 1970 and has been a member continuously for the 54 years since then, has held too many volunteer positions with the RASC to count. Many years ago he was President of the Toronto Centre. He is the founder and past President of the Mississauga Centre. He is also president of the Earthshine Astronomy and Space Science Organization, a Mississauga not-for-profit charitable organization, which has partnered with the RASC to run public outreach astronomy programs at Riverwood Conservancy since 2009. Earthshine’s mandate is public outreach, and it is working on generating support for a public science education facility in Mississauga, which would feature a planetarium and observatory telescope.

At the national level, Randy has worked in a variety of positions for many years. He is a past President of the Society (1998-2000), and served as Executive Director from 2014 until his retirement in 2019. In early 2023, at the request of the Board of Directors, he came out of retirement to step in and serve as interim Executive Director upon the resignation of the previous Executive Director, and to work with and assist the Society’s new Executive Director throughout 2023 and into 2024. His deep knowledge of the operations of the Society, and his connections to members across Canada, have been indispensable in bringing stability to the Society during the difficult process of transition from one Executive Director to the next. Without his help, it would have been extremely difficult to maintain all of the National Office’s functions.

More recently Randy conceived the idea of a Solar Eclipse Committee to coordinate eclipse preparations and RASC eclipse activities for the recent total solar eclipse that so many RASC members travelled to observe. He also conceived, and was heavily involved in, the idea of Canada Post creating a special stamp to commemorate the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse.

In June 2023 Randy was elected as a director of the Society, and has continued his work assisting National Office staff and with the Society’s Editorial Board, which is in charge of RASC publications.

Randy’s tireless dedication to the RASC’s various committees, task forces, and public education has earned him the Society’s Service Award (2005), as well as the Society’s most significant award and highest honour, Fellow of the RASC (2013). It is difficult to imagine The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada operating as it does without him.

2023:

Judy Black has been working tirelessly as Chair of the National Council to turn it into a functioning entity, focussing on communication, cooperation, and transparency. She’s been on the phone with the President just about every day working on this, running productive National Council meetings and mentoring the process online through the chat groups and email. We’ve now reached a point where we are seeing results. Therefore, I have nominated Judy for the President’s Award for 2023 to recognize this important contribution to the Society.

2022:

Emilie Lafleche of Montréal Centre, This year’s President’s Award recognizes the pioneering efforts and vision of an extraordinary youth member of the Society. Emilie Lafleche agreed to chair and create a new committee within the Society to address the needs of, and attract young Canadians with an interest in Astronomy and the related Sciences. Emilie and her team represent a young, vibrant and diverse group within the RASC and in its first year created new awards and branding and “merch” and programs. They also put together a Youth Day for GA2021 and had a big influence on the entire General Assembly. As its terms of reference states, this committee serves to represent the unique viewpoints, values, and experiences of the Society’s youth members as they apply to their RASC membership, including a core dedication to upholding the ideals of respect, inclusivity, and diversity within the Society.

2021:
Renata Koziol, National Office. Renata's many contributions to the financial well-being of the Society and the many tasks she undertook related to our Operations, Publications, Budgets, and Audits to name a few, exemplify her dedication to the RASC.

2020:
Barry Shanko, Vancouver Centre, was awarded the RASC President’s Award for 2020 in recognition of his outstanding efforts at public outreach spanning more than three decades. (citation)

2019:
Michael S.F. Watson, National Member, is being awarded the RASC President’s Award for 2019 in recognition of his major contributions to the governance of the Society as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Watson provides important legal perspectives on issues affecting the Society, and thanks to his long experience in the RASC, he is a source of great advice to his colleagues on the Board. (citation)

2018:
Rick Huziak is an active member of the RASC Saskatoon Centre. He is instrumental in the fight to save our skies from light pollution. He is an active observer, coach, and mentor to many people, and a resource that many can count on.(citation)

2017:
Dave Garner contributes to the Society's publications in numerous ways—Journal Production Manager and columnist; Bulletin Editor; National Newsletter Editor; and active member at the Kitchener-Waterloo Centre (citation)

2016:
Terence Dickinson has been a tireless supporter of Canadian astronomy for several decades. His books continue to inform readers about the contributions of both amateur and professional astronomers (citation).

2015:
Walter MacDonald, Kingston Centre, for his diligence, attentiveness, and steadfast pursuit of excellence as the Society’s Webmaster (citation).

2014:
Robert Dick, Ottawa Centre, in recognition of his continued work promoting dark skies, awareness of problems associated with light pollution, and creation of guidelines for Dark-Sky Preserves and Urban Star Parks.

2013:
Dave Lane, Halifax Centre, for his anonymous dedication in doing so many software tasks that keep our Society operating.

2012:
Randall Rosenfeld, Unattached, in recognition of his ongoing work as Archivist to preserve the Society's rich history and heritage (citation).

2011:
Mayer Tchelebon, Toronto Centre, in recognition of stellar leadership and dedication in RASC financial management.

2010:
Sid Sidhu, Victoria Centre, in recognition of outstanding leadership in the Victoria area during IYA2009, the International Year of Astronomy.