Premier Honours Outstanding British Columbians

Forty-five British Columbians representing 27 communities throughout the province were honoured at the fifth annual BC Community Achievement Awards ceremony held at Government House in Victoria.

Lieutenant Governor Stephen Point and Premier Gordon Campbell presented each recipient with a medallion designed by B.C. artist Robert Davidson on behalf of the BC Achievement Foundation.

“The BC Community Achievement Awards recognize people from across our province who enrich the lives of others, give freely of their time and energy, and who embody the spirit of and passion of our communities,” said Premier Campbell. “Through their actions, they demonstrate the power of one person to make a positive impact on an entire community, and an entire province. It is an honour to recognize their achievements and celebrate their contributions towards making British Columbia the best place on Earth.”

“This year’s recipients demonstrate that British Columbians are making a difference in every area of our province,” said foundation chair Keith Mitchell. “Whether they live in smaller communities such as New Hazelton and Tofino or the major centres like Victoria, Cranbrook and the Lower Mainland, they have found ways making each of their communities a better place to live.”

An independent advisory council selects the recipients of the British Columbia Community Achievement Awards. The 2008 advisory council members are Kurt Alberts, Mayor of Langley; Terry Lake, Mayor of Kamloops; Marcia Smith, Managing Partner of National Public Relations and past Community Achievement Awards recipients Sandra Heydon of Chemainus and Grace Wong of Vancouver.

The British Columbia Achievement Foundation is an independent foundation established by an initial endowment of $6 million from the Province to recognize and celebrate B.C.’s spirit of excellence in the arts, humanities and community service. The Community Achievement Awards, launched in 2003, were the first initiative of the foundation, followed by BC Creative Achievement Awards, the BC Award for Canadian Non-Fiction and the Time to Read award for early literacy