Award Year: 2018

Jag Khosa

Sgt. Jag Khosa has worked tirelessly for many years to curb gang violence in his local community. Drawing on his depth of experience and through the support of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of BC (CFSEU-BC), Jag developed an educational platform to reach vulnerable youth and their parents. Through articles, workshops and guest spots on radio and television, Jag is driven to shine a light on gang prevention by sharing CFSEU-BC’s End Gang Life messaging. He also volunteers his time to Students Against Violence Everywhere, SAHELI, Our Global Village and the Surrey Rotary Club. Jag’s commitment has resulted in hope restored to many families and young lives forever changed.

Henry Norris

Henry Norris has always had a passion and an eye for furniture design. He began honing his craft as a teenager, creating crude yet functional art pieces. He spent much of his early career in construction, metal-working and making bicycle frames, all of which influenced his interest in working with and manipulating metal. Henry opened his own Vancouver manufacturing and design firm in 2012 precipitated by a desire to have more freedom, more control, and most importantly, more opportunity to create. He has a constant curiosity to explore new materials, forms, and methods in which to convey these abstracts into tangible objects. A self-taught designer, Henry has exhibited locally, and at the Architectural Digest Design Show and Sight Unseen in New York.

Kootenay Waste Services Ltd.

Jon Carlson is the proprietor of Kootenay Waste Services. Two years ago, he took a huge risk. Knowing nothing of the industry, he bought a company that had no capital and owed tens of thousands of dollars. He felt he could put his entrepreneurship and work ethic to the test. And it has paid off as his community- oriented family business continues to grow and increase its revenues!

Jim Lamond

Spanning 45 years, Jim Lamond’s immense contributions to community sport have touched many lives. As co-founder of KidSportTM Richmond and as a founding member of the Richmond Sports Council, Jim has helped shape the sporting community in Richmond from the ground up. He has also dedicated countless volunteer hours to the BC Forester Games for disabled athletes, the BC Summer Games, and BC Senior Games. The calibre of Jim’s accomplishments are as significant today as they will be for future generations.

Bradley Hunt

Bradley Hunt is a Heiltsuk artist from Waglisla (Bella Bella). He is a member of the Eagle Clan, through his late mother Annie Hunt. Bradley attended the Vancouver School of Art for two years before transferring to UBC to complete his degree. He is a self-taught Heiltsuk artist creating deeply carved sculptural totem poles, panels and masks with a strong focus on creativity, and craftsmanship. Bradley is a natural teacher who has mentored his sons Shawn and Dean as well as his cousin Bracken Hanuse-Corlett and Mi’kmaq artist Jordan Bennett. One of Bradley’s core philosophies as a teacher is that he believes that the student must learn the principles of the traditional art form before they try to push the boundaries and create their own personal style. His attention to detail and his innovation within the art form has brought Bradley recognition for his work and it is collected both nationally as well as internationally. Bradley continues to carve every day with his two sons in Sechelt BC on the Sunshine Coast.

Kikinaw Energy Services Ltd.

Kikinaw Energy Services, an industrial maintenance and construction contractor supporting Wind Energy, Oil & Gas, Mining & Utility sectors, is a home-grown local success story spearheaded by Kikinaw President, Kory Wood. From its modest beginnings in 2014, Kikinaw has expanded to 25 employees providing services to the three largest wind turbine manufacturers globally and offering training and employment opportunities for local stakeholders and First Nations people.

Paddy Macleod

Paddy Macleod has dedicated the past 45 years to enriching Vancouver’s cultural landscape. As the General Manager of the Vancouver Cantata Singers (VCS) she leveraged her experience to not only obtain grant funding, but to assist the Director and choir in winning the Canada Council’s Healey-Willan Prize, three times. Paddy co-founded the Blackbird Theatre Company in 2004, and through her volunteer work and commitment to mentorship, she has helped shape the province’s arts scene. Today, Paddy is a board member and secretary of the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and Vice-Chair of the Vancouver Concert Hall and Theatre Society.

Carrielynn Victor

Carrielynn Victor, (Stó:lö, Coast Salish & Mixed Western European Heritage) from the community, XwChí:yóm (Cheam), is a gifted artist. Her paintings and murals reflect her belief of her role as a defender of the earth. Carrielynn lives a holistic lifestyle that feeds her creative processes and results in vivid colours and geometric designs raising a refreshing new genre of Indigenous art. An artist, fisher, plant harvester and medicines practitioner, Carrielynn’s work fuses ancestral knowledge and a deep connection to her culture with contemporary techniques and styles. Her practice considers spirit and sexuality, community, interconnectedness, land, and sustainability. She shares stories of her own as well as stories that provide snapshots of Stó:lō history and world views. Carrielynn is based in Cheam, her father’s family’s ancestral village on the banks of the Lower Fraser River.