Each year during our Annual Conference and AGM, UMNB presents awards to municipal elected officials and volunteers as nominated by our membership.
To nominate someone for the Arthur Slipp Municipal Leader of the Year Award, Raymond Murphy Memorial Award, or the Louise Breau Memorial Award please submit a half- to one-page piece on your nominee, detailing some of their history of service and biography to info@umnb.ca for consideration by the Nominating Committee.
Your nominee can be:
- Currently elected or retired municipal official
- From your municipality, or a municipality other than your own
- A devoted community volunteer never elected (Raymond Murphy Award only)
Long Service Awards
UMNB will present long service awards to those who have served on Council for a minimum of 12 years, 25 years and 35 years.
Nominations are due on Friday, August 25 2026.
ARTHUR SLIPP MUNICIPAL LEADER OF THE YEAR
The Arthur Slipp Municipal Leader of the Year Award was established in 2023 to honour the impact of the former Mayor of Woodstock, Arthur Slipp, on the landscape of municipal politics in New Brunswick. Arthur is distinguished by his unwavering integrity and a steadfast commitment to the betterment of the community. This annual award honours a municipal leader who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to improving residents’ lives and their community’s overall well-being. This leader is a role model, inspiring their colleagues and constituents alike, with their visionary thinking, innovative ideas, and determination to create lasting change.
2025 Recipient:
Bonnie Morse, Mayor of Grand Manan
Previous Winners
2024 – Peter Saunders, Mayor of Three Rivers
2023 – Libby O’Hara, Mayor of Quispamsis
RAYMOND MURPHY MEMORIAL AWARD
The Raymond Murphy Memorial Award was established in 2017 in honour and memory of our past President, Executive Director, and friend Raymond Murphy of Rexton, NB. Raymond was a man who loved his community deeply, and who devoted his whole life and his whole heart to public service. His legacy lives on in the lives he touched, the causes he advanced, and the community he made better through his efforts. This award is presented annually to a member municipality volunteer, elected or non-elected, who has shown outstanding dedication of his or her service to their municipality.
2025 Recipient:
Ken Chorley, Councillor of Hampton
Previous Winners
2024 – John Jarvie, Town Manager of Rothesay
2023 – Kate Akagi, Deputy Mayor of the Town of Saint Andrews.
2022 – Chris Flemming, former mayor of the Town of St. Andrews.
2021 – Ann Seamans, former mayor of the Town of Riverview.
2020 – Gerald (Jerry) Gogan, Mayor of Petitcodiac with 31 years on Council.
2019 – Beth Thompson, councillor of Quispamsis for over two decades, co-creator of what has become one of the largest International Women’s Day events in the region, author, food bank volunteer, canvasser, and devoted member of her community.
2018 – Scott Dunlop, an outstanding community volunteer who has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for residents of Woodstock and Carleton County.
LOUISE BREAU MEMORIAL AWARD
The late Mayor Louise Breau of Millville, NB was a person of great integrity and never-ending dedication. She worked diligently for the betterment of municipalities in New Brunswick, without thinking of her own gain. Louise was a reliable, sincere and dynamic person who always had a smile and the time to listen. She was a person who wanted to be involved and would help out in any way, no matter how big or small the effort was on her part. This award is presented annually to an elected official (past or present) with a similar spirit of dedication as Louise.
2025 Recipient:
Dawn Arnold, Former Mayor of Moncton, Senator
Previous Winners
2024 – Robert Simpson, Councillor in Nackawic-Millville
2023 – Marcel Deschenes, former Mayor of Grand Falls
2022 – Arthur Slipp, Former Mayor of the Town of Woodstock.
2021 – Robert Lee, councillor of the Village of Centreville.
2020 – Clem Tremblay, Councillor for 18 years and Past Mayor of Dalhousie.
2019 – Kenneth Chorley, three-term Mayor of Hampton.
2018 – Emil Olsen, Councillor and former Deputy Mayor of Quispamsis.
2017 – Cyril Rioux, Mayor, Drummond
2016 – Beverly Forbes, Mayor, Millville
2015 – William J. Bishop, Mayor, Rothesay
2014 – Darrell Giggie, Mayor Florenceville-Bristol
2013 – Frank Dunn, Councillor, New Maryland
2012 – Robert Harquail, Councillor, Dalhousie
2011 – Karen Titus, Mayor/Councillor, Perth-Andover.
2010 – Carole Doherty, Mayor, Chipman
2009 – Alexander (Sandy) MacLean, Mayor/Councillor, Dalhousie
2008 – Walter Brown, Councillor/Deputy Mayor, Fredericton
2007 – Eric Steeves (post-humous), Mayor, Hillsborough; Dr. James Purdy, Councillor, Sackville
2006 – Hugh Morris (post-humous), Mayor, Charlo
2005 – Burpee Wagner, Councillor and Mayor of Perth-Andover.
2004 – Stanley Graham, Mayor, Millville
2003 – Oscar Boyd, Mayor, Norton
2002 – J. Craig Melanson, Mayor, Nackawic
2001 – Alan Gillmor, Mayor, St. Stephen
2000 – Benson H. Parker, Mayor, Doaktown
1999 – Robert B. Simpson, Mayor, Nackawic
1998 – Ronald R. (Tchine) Long, Mayor, Clair
1997 – J. Raymond Lagacé, Mayor, Atholville
1996 – Fay L. Tidd, Mayor, Oromocto
1995 – Laura Reynolds, Mayor, Plaster Rock
1994 – James Watt, Mayor, Gondola Point