Congratulations to outstanding award-winning employee

 
The Community Services Department would like to share a massive kudos to one of its outstanding employees, Connor Shaw.

Connor has been a huge asset to the Town of Hinton’s Aquatic Centre since 2017. He was nominated for a “Customer Service (Individual)” award at the Hinton Chambers of Commerce Gala on Saturday, April 23, and to no surprise, he won!

The Town would like to share the nomination submission for Connor that was shared at the Gala, as it captures how truly talented, valuable, and appreciate this individual is.

“Connor works at the Hinton Recreation Centre, as an Aquatic Instructor and Lifeguard. Our son Damien has been diagnosed with Autism with severe mobility and communication challenges.

“As part of Damien's therapy program Connor began to work with Damien at age 4. At that time, Damien was crawling and communication between him and others was nonexistent (Damien has no words and is non-verbal). Teaching a non-verbal student is challenging, but right from the beginning we watched Connor love and support Damien with the flexibility that he needs to be successful.

“I don't know how he's done this, but Connor has taught Damien to walk, first in water, and now on land. Connor taught Damien how to give a high 5, and now we see Damien communicate with others through eye contact, high 5's, smiles, and a lot of times with his classmates, hugs - these things are miracles.

“Without Connor, we didn't think these things would ever be possible. Connor has shown us that Damien being nonverbal is not a barrier, and that words are not required to love someone and to help them to be successful.

“At the beginning Connor was just the guy that was assigned to give Damien swimming lessons but now has given Damien so much more. We could never have imagined that Connor would be so beneficial and influential in his life then he has been so far. When scheduling doesn't work out, instead of cancelling the lesson or transferring Damien to another instructor, Connor will readjust his schedule, sometimes meaning he will stay late after work, or even come in on his day off to teach Damien.

“Connor understands that with Damien's disabilities change is difficult, and that the best thing for Damien is for Connor to make himself available somehow, and this is something that Connor does on his own.

“If you're lucky enough to be at the Hinton Rec Centre when Connor and Damien are in the pool together, you will see two friends going for a swim together, not just an instructor/student relationship. You'd find it difficult to decide who is having more fun in the pool, is it Damien who is laughing and giggling, or is it Connor who is smiling and playing games.

“I don't think there is any way to explain how Connor does it, it just happens. We are grateful for Connor and the humble gifts he possesses. And for this reason, we would like to nominate Connor Shaw as an individual which demonstrates exceptional customer service skills by consistently offering a high quality of service and by going beyond the call of duty to assist customers.”

In addition, the Community Services Department would like to extend a thank you the Unifor Local 855 for allowing this award acceptation while Connor was Interim Supervisor. Our community members appreciate it, and it did not go unnoticed.

Congratulations Connor, GOLD STAR! We are grateful to have you as a part of our team each and every day!