Terry Bernard

Terry Bernard, who comes from Wagmatcook, has been involved in sport for most of his life.

Starting as an athlete, Terry took to hockey and softball, which helped shape who he is today as a builder. Terry earned his way to Brandon, Manitoba, to play in the Canadian Native Men’s Fastball Tournament in 1992.

With the importance of sports, recreation and physical activity always in the back of his mind, Terry pursued a career as the Mi’kmaw Physical Activity Leadership Coordinator for his home community of Wagmatcook. Over the course of his career in the MPAL role, Terry helped to connect his community with many opportunities to be active, and one of his proud accomplishments were seeing the number of youths playing minor hockey from 4 participants to 41 participants in one season.

He was the driving force behind a major fundraiser for the community’s recreation and physical activity programs, and the effects of his efforts are still felt to this day.

Terry coordinated the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Summer Games in 2011 and 2017, both in Wagmatcook and was a founding member of the Unama’ki Sports Association, which brought programs such as the Unama’ki Riders Snowboard Program and the Unama’ki Surf Camp, both designed to engage youth in activities that may not have been accessible.

As the MK Sport Liaison, Terry is able to work with all Nova Scotia First Nation Communities to bring sporting opportunities to each. He has been an integral part of Team Atlantic and the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships since 2015, and most recently, had been appointed as Chef De Mission for Team Mi’kmaw Nova Scotia that competed at the 2023 North American Indigenous Games, as well as programs that are close to his heart, such as Autism Hockey.

Terry is well known for his generous heart and unwavering efforts to help ensure that programs are financially sustainable by finding funding and taking on fundraisers himself. If you need to buy a ticket, Terry has them!

Sport is, and has always been a very important part of Terry’s life, and he is so deserving of this recognition.