Longtime volunteer and community leader Tim Arnason has been honoured with the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of his decades of service to Gimli and beyond.
Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson presented Arnason with the commemorative medal on July 8, as part of a provincewide initiative to recognize Manitobans who have made significant contributions through civic dedication, volunteerism and public service.
Arnason was selected for the honour based on his extensive background in philanthropy, leadership and lifelong volunteerism. A familiar face in Gimli and well beyond, he has devoted over 50 years to community betterment, volunteering his time and talents with local, provincial and national organizations.
His volunteer record includes involvement with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Pan Am Games, Greendell Community Centre and Darwin School Parents Association, among many others. These experiences led to leadership roles on numerous boards and initiatives, including the management committee for Computers for Schools Manitoba and planning and fundraising committees for the Waterfront Centre in Gimli.
He also played a central role in saving Lögberg-Heimskringla, North America’s longest continually operating ethnic newspaper, which serves the Icelandic diaspora. Arnason was instrumental in raising the necessary funds to ensure its survival.
Over the years, he has served on the boards or taken on advisory roles with the Gimli Film Festival, the Canada Iceland Foundation, the Viking Park Capital Campaign and the Westshore Community Foundation. His longest-running commitment has been with the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba (Íslendingadagurinn), where he has served as a board member, past president and life member for more than five decades.
His connection to the festival runs deep — Arnason’s father served as the official escort to the Fjallkona for 35 years, a role Tim then held for 27 years. The tradition continues, as Arnason has since passed the responsibility to his son, marking over 65 consecutive years of service from the Arnason family in this symbolic role.
Currently, Arnason chairs the Gimli Wetland Interpretive Centre project, which aims to transform the former 144-acre wastewater lagoon into a wetland and wildlife sanctuary. The project will include educational programming focused on Lake Winnipeg’s environmental health and the historic relationship between Indigenous peoples and Icelandic settlers.
“The list of Tim’s contributions could go on well past my allotted time,” said Johnson during the medal presentation. “Interlake-Gimli and all of Manitoba is a better place because of him.”
