It Takes a Village: On Receiving the Order of Manitoba

Later this afternoon I’ll be receiving, along with several other Manitobans, the Order Of Manitoba from our province’s Lieutenant Governor, the Honorable Janice Filmon. The ceremony will be live-streamed commencing a few minutes before 4pm CST and available to watch live (or at any time in the future) HERE…

The Order of Manitoba was established in 1999 to “recognize individuals who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field of endeavor benefiting in an outstanding manner the social, cultural or economic well-being of Manitoba and its residents.”

If it is true that my work over the years has indeed benefited the well-being of others “in an outstanding manner,” no one is more pleased than I, and I will happily accept the commendation with a commitment to continue my work, as best as I am able, by that standard and measure.

It Truly Takes a Village…

Please excuse the cliché. But it’s true. I’m sure I could fill many pages with names and stories of individuals and organizations who have generously come alongside me over the years with every kind of support you can imagine: spiritual, emotional, material, financial, etc. And though I have certainly felt disheartened, weary, and even lost at various points along the way, I’ve never once felt alone. And that, almost more than anything, is what can sustain a person in a vocation like mine for the long haul.

My heart is filled with overflowing gladness and gratitude for you all. But it is important that I specifically acknowledge my wife, Nanci Bell, and my manager, Dave Zeglinski, for the decades of love and commitment I’ve depended on to do this work. I’ve also been blessed with wonderfully talented and dedicated office staff, inspiring musicians and artists to create projects with, enthusiastic co-laborers in the various causes I’ve felt led to join, and I have benefited greatly from the wise counsel of my ever-watchful advisory board.

Lastly, to our Creator, the author of my faith, who is implicit in every song I’ve ever written, I offer my praise and my fealty.

“I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”

Psalm 104:33

Steve Bell
October 28/ 2021
Winnipeg, Treaty 1