Devenney receives local hero award

Don Devenney, Royal Roads senior IT security and risk specialist, has been named a local hero by the Goldstream Gazette.

Devenney was awarded the Goldstream Gazette 2021 Local Hero as Community Builder Award.

Here’s an excerpt of the story announcing the award:

Don Devenney’s efforts as a volunteer have covered running a marathon through the desert to soaring through the skies above B.C.

Devenney is a three-time veteran of the Marathon des Sables, a grueling 250-kilometre ultra-marathon spread in six stages over seven days through the Sahara desert in Morocco. He was inspired in part to compete in the event for the first time in 2012 as part of his efforts to raise money for the Canadian Arthritis Society in support of a friend who was dealing with a “particularly nasty” form of rheumatoid arthritis.

[…]

Devenney’s contributions include volunteering as an auxiliary constable with the West Shore RCMP since 1995. He recently completed a series of presentations on anti-bullying at local schools, a subject he takes seriously.

“Having been bullied in my early teens, I’m well aware of the effect bullying has,” Devenney noted. “Internet bullying, because it’s anonymous in nature, is much worse than what I experienced growing up. I do what I can to help young people understand the effects of Internet bullying because growing up can be challenging enough.”

Read more at the Goldstream Gazette.