Award Year: 2013

Salmon n' Bannock Bistro Ltd.

Passion and perseverance are the hallmarks of Inez Cook and her partner Remi Caudron, co-owners of Salmon n’ Bannock Bistro in Vancouver. They saw an opportunity prior to the Vancouver Olympics to open a fully licensed restaurant serving First Nations cuisine. Their menu is based on traditional ingredients prepared to please a modern palate. They proudly serve wild local fish, organic and free range meats, bannock and other culinary delights inspired by a variety of First Nations traditions. Salmon n’ Bannock’s revenues have tripled and it has also received top accolades from the food and beverage industry

Douglas Crow

Douglas Crow touches the lives of many on Vancouver Island with low or no vision. With his warm, cordial approach and genuine concern for people, he is an outstanding volunteer with the CNIB. A coordinator for the Peer Support Program, he recruits, trains and mentors new peer counselors. As a Peer Mentor himself, he provides one on one support to people who have recently experienced vision loss. As a community advocate and ambassador for the CNIB, Douglas also reaches out to the greater community to encourage understanding of the challenges faced by those with vision loss.

Kelly Mann

Kelly Mann is recognized today for his promotion of sport, volunteerism and community engagement. As a community volunteer, his work with Kidsport Victoria has been integral to the organization’s success. As President & CEO of the BC Games Society, his impact on thousands of athletes, coaches, volunteers and officials is legendary. With enthusiastic leadership, organizational expertise and team spirit, Kelly has carefully nurtured a lasting legacy in all the host communities of BC Games by working with mayors and community leaders to ensure positive outcomes. Kelly’s ability to create results speaks directly to his quality of work, great sense of humour and ability to engage all in a shared vision.

Mandy Brown

Mandy Brown has kept alive the coil basketry tradition of her Nlaka’pamux people that dates back centuries. She has taught women in her community to make both baskets and moccasins and passed on the traditions to generations of young people. Her work is featured in the First Peoples Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa and the Museum of Anthropology. Mandy has contributed to her community as a social worker, member of the band council, and a trustee of the school board.

Spirit Lake Silviculture

Silviculture is more than just planting trees explains Robert Dick, President of Spirit Lake Silviculture of Campbell River. His company  works to control the establishment, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests to meet the specific needs and values of the community and clients. As a vegetation management service established six years ago, Spirit Lake delivers it services by providing a high standard of safety and environmental protection. Spirit Lake Silviculture is known to be diligent, productive, cost-competitive and effective.

John De Forest

John De Forest has been a lifelong volunteer. It is his contributions to the Historic Stewart Farm in Surrey and Burnaby Village Museum for which he is being honoured. For seventeen years, he undertook improvements and restoration to Burnaby Village’s industrial collections and vintage vehicles and, today, at 92, he is an exhibition guide at the Farm and a member of the Barn Committee.

Dr. James McEwen

We are privileged to honour Dr. James McEwen for his technological innovation, his entrepreneurial spirit and his profound commitment to the public good. He is the driving force behind the medical device industry in BC. A biomedical engineer, Jim invented a surgical tourniquet device that is used more than 20,000 times a day in medical procedures around the world. It is the co- founding of the not-for-profit Medical Device Development Centre that is one of his great successes. This centre helps companies from BC succeed in the development, manufacturing and sale of home-grown BC medical devices on the world market. He has also served as President of the Board of the ALS society of British Columbia. Entrepreneur, inventor, philanthropist, mentor and volunteer.