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Roma Threatful is the Revelstoke Citizen of the Year

Roma Threatful named Revelstoke Rotary Club Citizen of the Year for decades of work with Girl Guides and Revelstoke Grizzlies.
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Roma Threatful receives the Citizen of the Year award from Graham Harper at the Rotary Club meeting last Thursday.

Roma Threatful was unable to hold back her tears as she talked about why she was so devoted to the Girl Guides program.

"My mom died when I was 10 and the ladies that were my leaders, they stepped in," she said, while wiping away her tears.

Her mother was a Brownie leader and the support of her colleagues helped Roma get through that tough time.

Now, Threatful has been involved with the Girl Guides for 38 years — 10 as an kid and 28 as an adult. She was honoured for her dedication by being named the 2016 Citizen of the Year by the Revelstoke Rotary Club last week.

It was her second honour in recent weeks — she also received a Community Spirit award for her volunteer work at the Volunteer Fair last month.

Threatful's two daughters — Andrea and Terilane both joined the program.

Roma became involved as a guide leader when Andrea was in the program. When Andrea was five, she broke her arm, so Roma came out to help her with the activities. She has stayed with it ever since.

"It's just a fabulous program," she said. "It gives the girls an opportunity to see they can do anything. They have strong role models."

She sees it as a place where girls can be girls, and be mentored by older youth and women.

"Kids grow up so fast and they're exposed to so much with the Internet and TV. In this organization they have the opportunities to be kids," she said. "And we have cookies — what's better than that?"

Threatful doesn't restrict her community involvement to the Girl Guides; she is the secretary of the Revelstoke Grizzlies Society and organizes the front-of-house on game days. She said it gives her something to do during the long Revelstoke winters, she said.

"I don't think there's anything better than watching the boys play. Win, lose or draw, it's the best $10 you can spend," she said. "The thought of the team leaving here is just crazy. What would Revelstoke be without a hockey team?"