Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Ms. Ruby Jumbo, senior administrative officer for the Sambaa K'e First Nation, for winning the Local Government Administrator of the NWT, Senior Administrative Officer of the Year for 2017.

Ruby's selection for Outstanding SAO of the Year was announced during the association's 2017 annual general meeting by Grant Hood, senior administrative officer of the town of Inuvik and LGANT president.

Ruby has been a resident of Sambaa K'e all her life. Ruby worked for Sambaa K'e First Nation for a total of 23 years with different responsibilities, nine years as a summer student. Right after that, she did two years as senior administrative officer.

However, Ruby felt she was too young and missed the theory component of the position and went back to school for five years. After completing school, she immediately gained the position of senior administrative officer and served in that capacity since 1995.

Sambaa K'e First Nation's members, elders, youth, and staff feel that the organization and community is lucky to have such a culturally strong, motivated, humble individual to guide them. Ruby is always motivated to support her community and its members to become educated, trained, and to keep their tradition, to be respectful of one another and others. Ruby is one of the biggest advocates for incorporating traditional ways into the workplace, two of which consist of healing and practising Dene Zhatie daily.

One of Ruby's best attributes is that she is very keen on community wellness and unbelievably skilled at finding funding sources to continue running programs geared toward healing of the community members. Not only does she find funding sources for the community wellness program, but also programs for creating employment for Sambaa K'e First Nation and its community members.

She finds job rotation important and has helped implement a job-sharing program in Sambaa K'e First Nation. Job sharing allows the community to employ other people. Ruby is not only senior administrative officer of Sambaa K'e First Nation. She is also a mother, aunt, cousin, niece, sister, teacher, and volunteer of the community.

Please help me recognize her on a job well done. Thank you, Ruby.

---Applause