Award Year: 2014

Don has had a long and distinguished career with the RCMP in Quesnel, Vanderhoof, Nanaimo, Richmond, Burnaby and Sooke.  He has been a lifelong community leader wherever he has served. In sports and recreation, from youth to seniors, he has volunteered as a coach or referee…for soccer, curling, baseball, and track and field. For 45 years, he has been associated with the sport of lacrosse. On the civic side, Don has been a school trustee and a parks and recreation commissioner. He continues his service to the community as the Manager of the Capital Regional District Bylaws and Animal Care Services. Don is recognized today for his community service across the Province and over his lifetime.

Bessie Lee became an activist in the 1960’s when her neighbourhood was threatened by demolition, urban renewal and freeway development. Bessie was a tireless campaigner to save Strathcona, home to Chinatown and a predominance of non-English speaking residents. Bessie helped with founding and organizing the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association, the citizen’s movement that successfully stopped the City of Vancouver from changing the face of the neighbourhood. Bessie is a soft spoken, respectful but determined force who is clearly effective and persuasive. Because of Bessie’s leadership role in her community organization, Vancouver’s first neighbourhood is a thriving and livable one today.

Helen Clifton is the Matriarch of the Blackfish Clan, Gitga’at Nation. She is a teacher, a communicator, a protector of the environment, an adviser, a map maker, social worker, midwife, preserver of language and a bridge between communities. She is revered for her teachings of traditional and sustainable practices of food gathering and preservation. She believes that these must continue to be a living activity. Importantly, Helen has shared her knowledge with academics and students from across BC and Canada. Helen is an extraordinary elder and leader, a keystone in the arch of her community, who injects positive energy into all community projects, keeps on eye on everyone’s welfare and ensures that traditions are alive and passed along.

Grade 12 student, Morgan Leung, has demonstrated care and concern for her community. She achieves this through her many school activities and her wider community fundraising. She was the leading youth fundraiser in BC and the Yukon for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. She is an advocate for Me to We and Free the Children. Morgan was recognized as one of Delta’s ‘20 under 20’ in 2013 for her role in developing the “Bracelets for Baby Food campaign” which, by selling hundreds of hand made bracelets, raised enough money to purchase 1,000 jars of baby food for her local food bank. Morgan is a volunteer student teacher of ballet and is indeed a role model for youth in her community.

Lynnette Cobb is a true community treasure. Her positive spirit, kindness, sunny disposition and selflessness help make her community a better place to live. Lynnette has volunteered countless hours with the Crisis and Counselling program for the Canadian Mental Health Association as a support counselor, crisis line support worker and volunteer supervisor. She takes on the most challenging situations and she does so with compassion. Lynnette has worked as a volunteer Court Supporter for RCMP Victim Services, helping victims and witnesses involved in the criminal justice system. Lynnette also helped to establish Baker Manor, a supportive housing facility in her area. We applaud Lynnette today for giving over 50,000 volunteer hours to her community.

Larry and Jason are innovators. Recent graduates of UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and its community pharmacy program, they created a non-dispensing pharmacy called Clinicare Pharmacists which provides enhanced patient-centred care through collaborative work with physicians, nurses and other health professionals. In other words, Jason and Larry can help each of us understand our medicines, consider best practices for our chronic diseases, educate us about our medical conditions and ensure our patient safety. Larry and Jason have successfully incorporated this model in several Aboriginal communities where access to pharmacies is limited. Both are lecturers in their specialty at UBC and together they have set a high standard for clinical pharmaceutical care in BC.