Cadet leader earns Queen's Jubilee Medal, Cpt. Maria Schonert awarded medal at Rideau Hall by Governor General

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Brier Dodge

EMC news - On Feb. 6, Cpt. Maria Schonert attended a special medal presentation at Rideau Hall, where she was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal by Governor General David Johnston.

"It was incredible being there, the TV doesn't do it justice," Cpt. Schonert said. "It was just that feeling."

She was one of 60 Canadians to be part of the first group to receive the medal for community service. Over the course of the Diamond Jubilee year, 60,000 Canadians will receive the medal, but this special service was to commemorate the Queen's official anniversary of her coronation, Feb. 6, 1952.

Cpt. Schonert was awarded the medal for her work leading and promoting the air cadets program in the community, first in Orleans, where she lives, and then with the Twillick Clarence-Rockland Squadron.

She found out several weeks ago but was "sworn to secrecy," she said.

Representatives out of the headquarters at CFB St. Jean were asked to submit a nominee - and she was their choice.

She's been involved with cadets for 25 years in the Ottawa area, putting in "thousands of hours."

After starting with Orleans and eventually spending a year as commanding officer of the squadron, she moved to work with the Twillick Clarence-Rockland Squadron, formerly out of the Rockcliffe base.

Before she was a cadet leader, she served in the air force as an air traffic controller.

Cadets is a free, youth program for 12-18 year olds that focuses on leadership, citizenship and physical fitness.

They are not members of the Canadian Forces or expected to join the military after finishing the program, but are asked to choose either sea, army or air cadets.

Cpt. Schonert also runs the ground portion of the aviation gliding program for the nine cadet squadrons in the Ottawa area, meaning she's met just about every youth that has come through the program in the last 25 years.

60 TEENAGERS

"Most of them know me," she said. "They're still my kids. So how do you tell people yes, I have 60 teenagers? And when I was in Orleans, I had 150 teenagers?"

She's been touched several times over the years by cadets that have come back and offered heartfelt thanks for putting her confidence in their leadership.

"It's the one or two that come back years later and say 'Thank you for believing in me,'" she said. "Where they might have taken the wrong path in life."

The list of medal winners demonstrated a range of community service, and were mostly everyday volunteers.

"Most people were like me, quietly going about their volunteerism," she said. "What was so nice is there were only three or four names you would actually recognize."

Among the recognizable names were Olympic medalist Alexandre Bilodeau, Brett Wilson from the show Dragon's Den, and Terry Fox's brother.

"I'm still in the glow of it," said Cpt. Schonert.