On December 16th in Edmonton, the general manager of the first team to win a CCAA national championship in any sport received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Beginning with his 1967 appointment to the position of high school principal, LeRoy Johnson held various positions at Camrose Lutheran College (now known as the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta) over the next three decades including instructor, director of public relations, director of athletics, and director of international affairs.

The ACAC Hall of Fame and Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame member also served as general manager of the college’s hockey team and played a key role in assembling the talent of the 1974-75 CCAA champion Camrose Lutheran College Vikings after the team re-entered the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference in 1972.

The 1974-75 squad was also one of the first post secondary hockey teams to embark on a European tour which ultimately led to the establishment of the Viking Cup -- an international hockey tournament which brought over 200 future NHLers and over 100 future Olympians to Camrose in a 25 year span. Johnson served as co-ordinator of the event from 1980 through 1998 - a total and authored The Viking Cup: A Small College Town Scores Big Time.

In addition to his involvement with the Vikings, Johnson was a founding member of the Camrose Sports Development Society which brought Junior ‘A’ hockey to the Rose City in 1996. He also played a key role in bringing a new sport development centre (including two ice arenas) to the municipality in 2007.

The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal is the second issued by the Province of Alberta. In 2005, Johnson was honoured with the first -- the Alberta Centennial Medal. Two years later, he was honoured with the Hockey Alberta Centennial Award.

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