Vano Recognition: Retirement Gift & Scholarship

Recognizing Lawrence Vano for his long service, dedication, and passion for the resource.

(1) Let’s help Vano put his feet up by getting him a special retirement gift. (2) If the initial fundraising goal is surpassed, and I hope it does, then let’s put any additional funds toward the Lawrence Vano Scholarship for Yukon students pursuing post-secondary education in Aquaculture, Fisheries Science, Biology, or Aquatic Stewardship via the Yukon Foundation, in recognition of his passion and dedication for Yukon River Chinook salmon and for mentoring our youth.

If you know Lawrence, you know that he has dedicated his life to the Whitehorse Rapids Fish Hatchery, the Whitehorse Fish Ladder, and Yukon River Chinook. You may have met him at a fry release, a tour of the hatchery or fish ladder, or heard him being interviewed on the radio. And while it would be hard to count how many fish Lawrence has raised over the years - if you know him, you know it would be even harder to count how many Yukon students he has mentored over the years, instilling this passion for the resource within them.

After 37-years of service, Lawrence is retiring this spring. Now, most people assume the fish hatchery job is a government position and that after such long service, Lawrence would automatically receive retirement benefits and a gold watch or something? In reality, the hatchery is owned by the Yukon Energy Corporation (YEC) and has been operated by many different entities over this period; everything from environmental consultants to non-profits like the Yukon Fish & Game Association have been involved - not one continuous employer. And now that Lawrence is retiring, it’s up to all of us to recognize his long-standing service, dedication, and contribution to the resource, as well as his incredible ability to inspire youth.

(1) As the organizer of this effort and as a close personal friend of Lawrence’s, I can tell you that a gold watch just wouldn’t be the right gesture. Lawrence has recently confided in me, “ …all I want is a Laz-y-Boy recliner. ” Honestly, it’s not the first thing that would come to my mind, but the more I think about it - it really is the perfect retirement gift that will keep on giving; and, well — it’s kind of funny too.

(2) Again, as a friend of Vano, as someone who has benefitted from his hard work, and, as someone who recognizes his special contributions to the Yukon River Salmon resource and inspiring Yukon youth — I can’t help think: the best way to recognize him would be the creation of a scholarship in his name, and now is the perfect time to do this. The scholarship will be dedicated to supporting Yukon students pursuing post-secondary education in Aquaculture, Fisheries Science, Biology, or Aquatic Stewardship. To this end, I am setting this up via the Yukon Foundation and any extra funds that may be raised will go toward this scholarship.

If you know Lawrence and agree he deserves recognition, please chip in $20 bucks, share with two friends, and leave a message for him. If he’s impacted your life like he’s impacted mine, please feel free to contribute more!

Thank you in advance for your contributions and I challenge YEC, Ensero Solutions, and the Yukon Fish & Game Association to match our contributions, help recognize Lawrence's long service & significant contributions, and grow this scholarship fund!!!

Sincerely,

Jake Duncan

PS. Lawrence is normally a very private person and he’s going to kill me when he finds out about this campaign. Fortunately, he’s also not very digitally savvy! With any luck, he won't see it before our work is complete. So please share far and wide - just not with Lawrence himself. Let’s try to keep it on the down-low for as long as possible.