Some emails involving royalty are scams. So, when alumnus David Weyant, MBA’14, received an email informing him he had been honoured by Queen Elizabeth, he deleted it.
It’s good he decided to double check because the CEO of the Alberta Lawyers Indemnity Association almost ignored the news he had been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.
“It was only after I received a cryptic comment about the email that I went into my deleted items and recovered, opened, and read it,” says Weyant, who called government officials to confirm the email was legitimate.
The medal was presented to Weyant by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Salma Lakhani, and then-Premier Jason Kenney during a ceremony in Edmonton. The commemorative medal was created to mark the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. (The Platinum Jubilee Medal program is continuing as planned despite the Queen’s death.)
Weyant was honoured for serving on the board of directors of various public and non-profit corporations and associations. The lawyer served as chair of the board of Alberta Health Services through the COVID-19 pandemic. Weyant also served on the boards of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Habitat for Humanity Canada, and Calgary Opera.
Weyant says there are many reasons he volunteers but it is mainly because it is important to give back.
“I have been fortunate to have had many privileges in my life – a middle class upbringing, good health, an excellent education, and some success in my career. It’s given me opportunities that not everyone has had,” Weyant says. “In many of my volunteer roles, particularly serving on boards, I can share my governance expertise and the analytical thinking acquired through over three decades of practising law. On some boards, like the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity on which I served as Chair, my passion to support artists was my motivation. I enjoy helping others and I am always learning.”
