Medal design pays tribute to Dunnville’s history

By Megan Deak

The Haldimand Press

DUNNVILLE—It is hard to imagine what planes, catfish, and the stunning Grand River have in common, but it’s not hard to make the connection in  Dunnville.

Amanda Robillard, a local portrait artist, knows the significance these elements have to the Dunnville area and they are what inspired her winning medal design.

Robillard was one of many participants in Hauser’s Wholehealth Mudcat Marathon’s medal design contest, which was open for the second half of January. Anyone from the public was welcome to enter the contest. The judges were blown away by the attention to detail and use of an important Dunnville icon  in Robillard’s work.

Robillard said her design idea came to her almost instantly. She felt the No. 6 Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Service Flying Training School (STFS) was an important part of Canada’s history as it had trained thousands of fighter pilots during WWII. She saw the contest as an opportunity to educate people through her art, using the Harvard Mark II, which was the primary plane for training the pilots.