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Joe McBryan and Lyda Fuller to be honoured in ceremony on Tuesday
CBC News · Posted: Aug 15, 2019
A star of the TV series Ice Pilots NWT and the executive director of the YWCA NWT are being inducted into the Order of the Northwest Territories.
It was announced on Thursday that Joe McBryan, widely known as “Buffalo Joe,” and Lyda Fuller, both of Yellowknife, are this year’s recipients.
The Order of the Northwest Territories recognizes people who have “served with the greatest distinction and excelled in any field of endeavour benefiting the people of the N.W.T. or elsewhere,” according to a news release from the N.W.T. Legislative Assembly.
McBryan is the founder and president of Buffalo Airways, a small airline based in Yellowknife that was the subject of the History channel reality show that aired for six seasons, from 2009 to 2014.
Buffalo Airways was grounded briefly in 2015 after Transport Canada suspended its operator certificate due to a “poor safety record.”
McBryan was nominated for the territory’s highest honour for his work in aviation.
“Joe’s generosity has helped families in need, provided sports teams and schools discounted fares, and assisted elders when they were short on airfare,” says the legislative assembly.
Fuller was nominated for her public service. She has been a leader at the YWCA for more than two decades. She is an advocate for programs and services that enhance the safety of women and families across the North, according to the legislative assembly.
Previous recipients include Nellie Cournoyea, the first and only female premier of the N.W.T., Dr. Marie Wilson, a former CBC journalist and commissioner of the national Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Sharon Firth, an Olympic cross-country skiier.
McBryan and Fuller will be inducted into the order in a ceremony at the legislative assembly building on Tuesday.
Written by Sidney Cohen