Gordon Pollard Jr. (left) accepting his diploma during his
graduation at Confederation College. (Source: Facebook)Submitted by Mandy Montgomery, MNO Employment Developer
On September 24, Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) citizen Gordon Pollard Jr. received the N.H. McNally Award from the Ontario Association of Paramedic Chiefs (OAPC). The award was given for conspicuous bravery above and beyond the performance of his duties as a paramedic. On May 19, he also received the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner’s Citation for Bravery in recognition of his courageous and lifesaving actions.
Gordon is a 2014 graduate from Confederation College-Dryden Campus’s Paramedic Program. He received financial assistance from the MNO and participated in the MNO Summer Career Placement Program. After graduation, Gordon passed the compulsory Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Advanced Emergency Medical Care Attendant Certification Examination (AEMCA), launching him into his chosen field.
He became a Primary Care Paramedic in Red Lake. It was there that his courageous actions in the performance of his duties earned him the two awards for bravery.
According to the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal, on June 26, 2014, Gordon was one of the paramedics that saved the life of a man whose truck was trapped in a sinkhole on Highway 618.
His colleague, fellow paramedic Derek Hamilton, also received the Commissioner’s Citation for Bravery for his lifesaving actions and courage during the same incident.
After accepting the award, Gordon commented that he felt “very grateful and appreciative” of the recognition he had received from both the OPP Commissioner and the OAPC.
Published on: October 22, 2015