A former Yorkton resident has been awarded the Order of Canada.

Grant McLean of Toronto is well known for his contribution to the film industry of Canada, particularly in the field of documentary production.

As a child Grant, along with his brothers Donald and Gordon, came to Yorkton with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Allan McLean.

Grant attended Victoria School and the Yorkton Collegiate Institute.

After graduation, he went to Ottawa with the National Film Board. and became a director of documentary films.

One such film took him to China where he produced a documentary on the life of Dr. Bethune.

Later he formed his own production company, continuing to make documentary film.

In the early years Grant was a good friend of the Yorkton International Film Festival, now known as the Yorkton Short Film and Video festival. He has returned to Yorkton several times as a festival adjudicator.

Grant is now retired and lives in Toronto.

His brother Donald was killed overseas during the war and his brother Gordon was a lawyer in Toronto before his death.

Speaking of successes, the Yorkton Celebrate Success awards program was set up by the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce in 1998 to recognize and honor the many successes that make up the business community of Yorkton.

The awards were held in 1998, 1999 and 2000. It was then decided that the event would be held every two years rather than annually. The awards banquet this year will be held on March 22 at St. Mary's Cultural Centre.

Nominations of businesses , organizations and individuals are accepted by the Celebrate Success committee in the following categories: Community Involvement, sponsored by the Yorkton Credit Union; Property Restoration, sponsored by the Parkland Mall; New/Expanded Business, sponsored by the Bank of Montreal; Customer Service, sponsored by RBC Financial Group; Young Entrepreneur, sponsored by the Business Development Bank of Canada; Wall of Success, sponsored by Parker Quine Chartered Accountants; Community Merit Award, sponsored by SaskTel; Business of the Year sponsored by the Yorkton Economic Development Commission and the City of Yorkton.

Nominees do not have to be members of the Yorkton Chamber. Nomination forms may be picked up at the Chamber office. There are separate nominations forms for each category. All completed nomination forms must be returned to the Chamber office before noon on January 31, 2002.

Past recipients are:

Business of the Year: Harvest Meats, Oliver Enterprises, Popowich Milling.

Wall of Success: Deneschuk Homes, Harvest Meats, Maple Farm Equipment, Image Group of Companies, Potzus Construction, Oliver Enterprises, GX Radio. Leon-Ram Industries, Parker Quine.

New or expanded business: Melrose Place, Grump's Grill and Coffee Shop, Painted Hand Casino.

Community involvement: Boston Pizza, Canadian Tire, Royal Bank of Canada.

Young entrepreneur: Sunset Photo, Yellowhead One Stop Variety Store and Laundromat, Yorkton Framing Gallery.

Community Merit Award: 2000 Summer Games, Royal Bank Cup committee.

Property restoration: Patrick Place, Cafe 191, Barry Zapshalla (the Mutual Group).

Customer Service: Maple Farm Equipment, Harley Davidson, Bonanza Family Restaurant.

Peoples' Choice Award, an individual award for Simply the Best: Doris Kaban of the Yorkton Credit Union.

Tickets for the awards dinner are available at the Chamber office, phone 783-4368 or drop in at the Chamber office on Highway 9 South.