LEWISTON — State Rep. Paul Gilbert was presented the Bruce D. Roy Award on April 27 during the 5th annual Workers Memorial Day Dinner hosted by the Western Maine Labor Council.

Longtime friend of Gilbert, state Sen. John Patrick, presented the award to Gilbert after speaking in depth of how honored he was to present this award and how that Gilbert truly embodies the spirit of this award.

The Bruce D. Roy Award took its name in recognition of Bruce D. Roy, who passed away in 2009. Roy was a longtime United Steel Workers 900 member and an ardent volunteer labor activist who believed in workers’ rights and joined the struggle at every possible chance.

The Western Maine Labor Council chose to name an award for Roy to recognize people who, by volunteering their time, help fight in the struggle for the rights of all workers as well as other social issues that affect all working men and women of Maine, regardless of whether they are union or not.