The LOCAL Making A Difference Award is presented to an individual who has displayed outstanding dedication or has been responsible for outstanding accomplishments of local significance in multiple births issues within Canada.

The winner of the 2019 Local MADA is Stefanie Gemmell.

​Stefanie has been a pillar of the Greater Sudbury Multiple Births Association since its inception in 2012.

She was at the very first meeting, where the group identified an area of support that the City of Sudbury was not offering, and decided to create, build, manage & grow the support group for families of multiples. This challenge was new to most of the group, with Stefanie spearheading a lot of the facets of becoming a registered non-profit, day to day managing of the group.

She began the journey as vice chair and stepped fluidly into the role as Chair of the association. As a mother of triplets herself, she has her heart 100% in the association and for its success in helping others. She works tirelessly for the group, always looking for new and innovative ways to help get the job done.

She knows the ins and outs of the association because she’s been chair, fundraising committee member, sale coordinator, PR director, treasurer, web designer, event coordinator, membership coordination, storage unit manager, MBC liaison and so much more. She has stepped in as needed during any temporary vacancies.

She doesn’t back down from a challenge or a setback. It’s thanks to her that the association is what it is today, and our members can attest to that.

It’s no wonder that Stefanie spearheaded the 2019 Conference & AGM. She had a goal and a vision with this conference and has done most of the leg work to see it through.

Words cannot express with full justification how well-suited Stefanie is for this Local MADA award, Congratulations Stefanie!