Eight coaches and teachers were recognized with awards for excellence in athletics, but not all excellence necessarily comes in the spotlight. That's the case with Lake Lenore School's Donna Haeusler.

Hausler was among the eight mentors that received their plaque as a part of Horizon Central Athletic Association's annual spring meeting on April 10th. Each day we've featured one of these great mentors.

Haeusler has been at Lake Lenore School for 23 years and has been the secretary for almost 13 years. She is the driving force behind all of the work for sporting events behind the scenes that go unnoticed by many. 

These jobs include making programs for tournaments, conferences, regionals, and provincial playoffs, promoting all sporting events the school hosts through social and local media, sending countless reminders to parents and the community to come and support our teams, among many more.

"Well, it's quite an honour. It's not necessary, and defiantly not expected, but of course, it was very nice to be nominated and recognized," said Haeusler. 

On top of being the go-to person to run all of the behind-the-scenes jobs, Donna continues to be an avid supporter of the school’s athletic programs. Her passion may have been sparked by her five children who all graduated from Lake Lenore School, taking part in multiple sports along the way.

"We had five kids that took part in just about every sport that was offered here. It takes a lot of people to put on a sports program. If I can be a part of that as a parent, as a helper, as staff, I'm proud to do it."

Not all hard work goes recognized. However, and fortunately, that's not the case now for Haeusler.