At the June meeting of the national St. John Ambulance Priory of Canada, Greater Sudbury’s own Geoffrey Lougheed was elected the organization’s deputy chancellor.
This means, come 2018 until 2020, Lougheed will serve as chancellor of the national organization, perhaps best known for its First Aid and CPR training.
Lougheed has a long history with St. John Ambulance, having served as branch chair in Sudbury, Ontario president and vice chancellor of Canada.
He’s the first Northern Ontarian to hold the deputy chancellor’s position.
“It is an honour to have been elected to this challenging position,” Geoffrey said in a news release. “At work or at home, we all need the ability to protect the people around us. St. John Ambulance provides a training that strengthens our communities and provides a light of useful knowledge that brightens our world.”
Lougheed follows in his father Gerry Lougheed Sr.’s footsteps when it comes to being involved with St. John Ambulance. Lougheed Sr. was made a knight of the order for his service in the community and for being one of the ambulance service providers to standardize training for ambulance attendants.
Geoffrey Lougheed has also been knighted by the order. He received the honour on Nov. 15, 2002 for his work in the community and for his years of work promoting health and safety.
“I have always felt that every Canadian should be trained in first aid/CPR,” Lougheed said. “We have seen the strong push for homecare and the growth of needs with our aging baby boomers. I believe this training should be built into our education system. As we learn how to drive, we should know how to save a life.”
St. John Ambulance originated during the crusades as the Knights of St. John, eventually establishing hospitals across the Middle East. In fact, the order still operates eye hospitals in Israel and Palestine.
Today, more than 500,000 Canadians received First Aid training through St. John Ambulance and more than one million hours of public duty volunteer time was given in 2015.
The St. John organization is a worldwide operation, headquartered in England.
“I am so proud of our 20,000 volunteers across Canada,” Lougheed said. “The thousands of hours they have protected Canadians, at hockey games, festivals or other local events define the role of a caregiver.”
