This year’s annual Mayor of London Honours List boasted some ‘purple pride’ as alumni Arthur McClelland and Alex Kopacz were honoured by London Mayor Ed Holder.
MCCLELLAND
Honoured in the Heritage Category, McClelland, MLS’84, was lauded for his tireless promotion of historical events that have taken place in London. For more than six years, he has organized joint trips of Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (London Branch) where he gives a detailed history of villages and hamlets in Middlesex and surrounding counties.
McClelland, who is continually asked to speak at history societies of the county and outside the county of Middlesex, has an expertise so vast that the City of London has often asked him for information about a building or history of a specific area.
Honoured in the Sports Category, Kopacz, BESc’13 (Mechanical Engineering), BSc’19, started his sporting career as a varsity level shot putter at Western and soon turned his talents to bobsleighing where he began participating in the North Race Circuit.
KOPACZ
He earned four podium finishes in the 2016-17 Bobsleigh World Cup, taking first overall to win the Crystal Globe.
Kopacz reached the pinnacle at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where he won the gold medal for Canada in the two-man bobsleigh event.
Started in 1976, the Mayor of London Honours List first recognized community involvement and philanthropic work in arts, and was expanded to more categories in 1989. The nominations are handled by the city’s advisory committees and the recipients will be honoured at the first council meeting of the New Year on Jan. 14.
“It is truly an honour to publicly recognize and celebrate these outstanding Londoners,” said Mayor Ed Holder. “Their work, their commitment to community-building, and their kindness inspire all of us. London is a more dynamic, and a more caring city as a result of their efforts.”
