It was a surreal moment for Steffanie Bjorgan, to be surrounded by, as she described it, “some of Canada’s best and brightest people,” all gathered inside the country’s most famous home, located in the nation’s capital.
“It wasn’t nervousness,” she said. “It was more just a sense of awe. Like, ‘How the hell did I get here?'”
The Niagara-on-the-Lake resident was in Ottawa on Thursday to meet the Governor General at Rideau Hall and receive one of the highest honours the federal government can bestow on an individual.
Bjorgan was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal for efforts as the founder of Red Roof Retreat, a local charity that provides recreational and respite services to children and young adults with special needs. It runs primarily out of its main hub on an 11-acre farm on Concession 6 Road.
Since opening 26 years ago, inspired by Bjorgan’s journey to find recreational and respite programs for her son, Garrett, who has cerebral palsy, it’s grown to serve more than 200 families in the area.
In summer 2024, the Governor General’s office informed her that she would be receiving the award, but Bjorgan said due to a backlog with the office since the pandemic, the ceremony was delayed to 2026 from late 2024.
Bjorgan arrived at Rideau Hall at 9:30 a.m. with her husband, Moe, and son, Owen by her side.
They parted ways and she went to meet and mingle with the other award recipients before the ceremony.
She described Rideau Hall as a beautiful and unpretentious place: “It’s everything you’d expect from something being Canadian.”
Being in a room among accomplished doctors, political activists and military personnel was “quite humbling,” she said.
“I sort of kept thinking, ‘I have no business being in this room.’ There was just so many amazing people there.”
She was especially in awe when she saw Elly Gotz, a Holocaust survivor and retired engineer, who received the Order of Canada that day — coincidentally, Bjorgan said, she had ordered his book “Flights of Spirits” the week before.
After the meet-and-mingle, the ceremony co-ordinators walked the recipients through a brief rehearsal, showing them where to stand and turn and how to greet the Governor General.
Then, the ceremony began.
“When it’s your turn, it really is just a blur for about a minute and a half,” she said. “Then you go back to your seat, and you go, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I just did that.'”
Bjorgan said Gov.-Gen. Mary Simon is a “very quiet, gracious, unassuming person, but you can feel her presence.”
“I was glad I got to say while up there, ‘It’s an honour to be here with you,'” she said. “You can tell she’s just a very good representative of our country.”
After lunch at Rideau Hall, she got to end the day by watching the Ottawa Senators take on the New York Islanders with the people that matter the most: her family.
“Without my husband and my boys, I would’ve never been able to do this.”
The entire experience has been inspirational for Bjorgan. When she was informed that she’d be receiving the award and asked them “Why me?” she said they told her, “We do extensive research and we can’t find an organization that’s done exactly what you’ve done.”
That got her thinking about what’s next for her when she hands over the reins of the non-profit group to the younger generation.
“I think what I’d really love to do is pivot my career back to advocacy,” she said. “I would love to go to other communities and help them do what we do.”
For the near future, however, her focus is on overseeing the expansion of Red Roof’s main hub on Concession 6, from a modest 1,100-square-foot facility to a new, 5,700-square-foot, two-storey building.
The $4.3 million project is $500,000 away from meeting its fundraising goal.
“This community, this region really rallied to see this building expand.”
As part of its fundraising, next month, on Sunday, April 26, Red Roof will host its annual pasta dinner. Tickets are almost sold out, but those interested in supporting the charity can sign up to bid in the dinner’s online auction, or donate items for the auction and raffles.
To purchase tickets, visit redroofretreat.com.
