Honouring a local fallen hero – Sgt. George Miok
From Sherwood Park, Alberta, Sgt Miok joined the military at the age of seventeen in 1998, following in his fathers footsteps. He served a tour in Bosnia in 2002, his first mission in Afghanistan in 2006, and in 2009 he departed for his second mission in Afghanistan. Between his missions, George earned a degree in secondary education. He spent his time at home teaching, and left an impact on every student he encountered.
Sgt. George Miok was killed by an improvised explosive device on December 30th, 2009, at 28 years old. George was filled with Canadian pride and his legacy lives on. To his core he believed that the greater good for all mankind is not a dream, but a goal we should all work towards.
The Collection Flavours
Apple: For George's time as a teacher.
Maple: A proud Canadian, tried and true.
Chewy Caramel: Tough, like the soldier George was.
Old Style Pilsner: Proudly Albertan, George's beer of choice.
Dobostorta: Classic Hungarian caramel dessert in honour of George's heritage.
Neapolitan: George's favourite ice cream.
Please take time on Remembrance Day to think about the sacrifices that many brave men and women have made so that we may all enjoy the freedoms that we have. Every dollar raised from the Sgt. George Miok collection will be reinvested in the children of the community to ensure the sacrifice of a great man, who gave his life for the belief of those freedoms, shall never be forgotten.
The Fundraising Program
Our desire is to support our community as selflessly as George did, so 100% of proceeds are being gifted to the Sherwood Park community through ‘Sgt. George Miok Scholarships’.
“We are again so grateful and honoured to have been a recipient of the Miok Memorial funds.
We spent the year recognizing students showing acts of services and ‘choosing joy’. Our staff recognized over 150 Miok Moments in the second half of the school year. Earlier this week we drew for our grand prize winners.
Congratulations to Kingston and Cymone. George would be proud of all you did to make our school a better place.
A HUGE thank you to JACEK Chocolate Couture and the George Miok Scholarship committee for providing the funds to support this initiative.”
-École Our Lady Of Perpetual Help Catholic School
Please see below the essay from the winner of the 2025 George Miok Scholarship, Olivia Minarchi.
The Resilience to Wait
by Olivia Minarchi
"It’s May on Friday, and I just had to pull my winter coat out from behind the spring jackets I had, perhaps naively, brought to the front of my closet. Can you believe this snow? My Nonno asks me. No, surprisingly after 18 years of snow pants only being traded in for ones to combat slush, or Halloween costumes being covered with winter coats, I let Mother Nature’s mystique remain intact. I didn’t expect this much snow. But until someone makes my mom’s space heater large enough to melt our backyard, I’ll just go along with it. We don’t have much choice. Winter tires will stay on, outdoor sports will be put on hold, and the thirteen year-old making rounds on every neighbour's driveway will stay in business a little longer. It doesn’t really shock him either, my Nonno. While he came from one of the jewels of the Mediterranean, the split skin on his hands, his thick socks, and the shovel that has made itself a part of the outdoor decor, suggest that he is more Canadese than one might think, upon first hearing that thick accent.
That’s the life of a Canadian; the challenge some of us are born with, and others adopt along with the title. People say we’re kind, polite or neighbourly, and we are. If we’re good at being Canadian, we are all of those things. We appear extra friendly, because if we do our job well, inconveniences don’t have much power over us. When you live in a place where nature works ever so hard to remind you that the land you are living on wasn’t intended to be hospitable, you learn to be chipper in the face of a blizzard, because really, it’s just a Tuesday. The resiliency of those that have made this land home since time immemorial, is perhaps the most favourable trait shared amongst the people willing to learn it. With a past marked by pain, it can be difficult to know where our nation’s pride can lie. With so much sorrow woven into every monument and a culture of “othering” working it’s hardest to divide; in a time of referendums, and protests that claim Canadian isn’t good enough, while simultaneously guarding citizenship with equal earnestness, and equal misguidance; the thread that weaves through every province and treaty line, is becoming more and more translucent, as it weakly glimmers to those of us hoping to maintain it. But we will try. We will grab our favourite shovel with the good handle, and dig our way to the hearts of the many. Those that need to be reminded that the only real qualifier is determined by this soil. This land. We will remind them that the resiliency to survive this inhospitable land, and do it with a smile and a no big deal demeanour, marks a real Canadian. Because when we make it through those cold days, and pitch-black nights, Mother Nature smiles, and we are rewarded by long days, and a hot sun. All you need is the resilience to wait for it."