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Richard Gregory, Medicine Hat College's chair of health and human services and a former social work instructor, has received the Canadian Association of Social Workers' Distinguished Service Award.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com@MHNJeremyAppel
Medicine Hat College’s Richard Gregory has won the Canadian Association of Social Workers’ Distinguished Service Award.
Gregory is the school’s department chair of health and human services, which involves co-ordinating the college’s social work program, as well as addictions counselling, child and youth care, paramedic and therapist assistant.
Prior to that position he was a social work instructor.
Gregory, who was raised in Biggar, Sask., says he was drawn to social work because he wanted to get involved with a profession that helps those in need.
“It comes from my family background, in that I have parents who were longtime volunteers in rural Saskatchewan, so it was very much about helping each other and helping your neighbours,” he said.
“When I think back to when I was in high school, I didn’t know about the profession of social work in small-town Saskatchewan. We didn’t have any social workers, so it wasn’t until I was having the discussion with my guidance counsellor and he was the one of the ones who recommended social work.”
With a bit of a detour studying agriculture, Gregory went on to get his social work diploma from Mount Royal in Calgary.
In addition to his passion for social work and education, Gregory spends a lot of time doing volunteer work. Some of the organizations he’s worked with are the HIV Network in Medicine Hat, the local Social Development Advisory Board, the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society and the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education.
“It’s just something that’s been ingrained in me – that it’s important to give back to your community, that it’s important to give back to people who are less fortunate,” he said. “That’s just part of what I grew up with. It’s very much installed into who I am.”
This isn’t the first time Gregory’s community service has been recognized on a large scale.
He received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2013 in recognition of his volunteer work.
In 2016, Gregory received the Hero Award from the Chinook Foundation of Calgary for his work advancing the quality of life in the LGBTQ community, as well as the Sunny Andrews Award from the Association of Social Work Boards recognizing his work with the Canadian Council of Social Work Regulators.
“I never did it to receive accolades for it, but it’s very humbling and very much an honour to be recognized by my profession (and) by my colleagues in my profession,” he said.
“I’m very grateful and very privileged to work at Medicine Hat College, as they have allowed the flexibility for me to be able to pursue some of this volunteer activity.”
