Warren and Mary Anna Harbeck have been announced as the recipients for the 2018 Annual Rotary Integrity Award.
“They have exhibited a lifetime of commitment and integrity to this community,” said Stephen Simms, president of the Rotary Club of Cochrane.
The Rotary Club defines integrity as “[possessing] firm principles and steadfastly [adhering] to high moral principles and professional standards.”
The Harbecks are well-known throughout Cochrane and its neighbouring communities and though they are active community participants, neither one is a member of the Rotary Club.
“We’re not actually members of Rotary, but it’s an organization that we’ve long admired,” said Mary Anna.
The couple is thankful for the award, but they want to acknowledge the people who made the achievement possible.
“The integrity award really belongs to the people who have been our mentors,” said Warren.
“We’re simply receiving the award on behalf of our mentors.”
Many of those mentors are from the Stoney Nation.
“This experience we had at the Stoney community was a major part of our life experience,” said Warren.
“People taught us to learn to listen over a cup of tea.”
The title of Warren’s weekly column in the Cochrane Eagle, Coffee with Warren, alludes to that experience.
The column, which features Mary Anna’s photography alongside Warren’s words, was spoken highly of in their nomination.
“In his weekly column, he spreads the word of peace, compassion, love and understanding,” said Rotary member Martin Parnell in his nomination statement.
Though Warren is responsible for the words on the page, he credits the community with making the column what it is.
“I can tell the world what a great place Cochrane is and the wonderful journeys people in this town have,” said Warren.
“So, partly [it’s] a thank-you note to the folks in Cochrane. Partly, it’s a chance to brag to the rest of the world about what a great place Cochrane is.”
Although Warren writes from a Christian perspective, his work reaches out to a broader audience.
“My own background has very much been in multicultural, inter-religious dialogue,” said Warren.
Warren has also been helping with the ongoing translation of the Christian Bible into the Stoney language since the 1970s.
The couple both worked to enrich the multicultural experience in Alberta in their own ways.
Mary Anna worked as a teacher and a director of the Alberta Teachers Association’s multicultural education console.
Warren and Mary Anna have been married for almost 56 years.
They met in college.
“I chased him on Sadie Hawkins Day,” said Mary Anna.
“I ran very, very slow,” said Warren.
A dinner will be held on May 11 to honour the recipients.
The event is generally invite-only, but a small exception is being made this year due to the wide influence the Harbecks have had on the community.
“The public who feel a closeness and an affinity to Warren are welcome to contact the club,” said Simms.
Ticket prices and availability are not known as of yet, but more information will be available closer to the date.
The Integrity Award has been an annual fixture of the Rotary Club of Cochrane since 1998, making this the 21st award given.
The club itself was founded in 1991.
