Ten dedicated Squamish citizens have been nominated for the 2004 Business Person and Citizen of the Year honours.
And for the first time, the winners will only find out when their names are called at the Squamish Chamber of Commerce's 71st Annual General Meeting and President's Banquet on Jan. 29.
John Harvey, Denise Imbeau, Pat Wilbur and Joan Forry are the 2004 nominees for Citizen of the Year.
Harvey works with local youth, and has been the driving force behind community projects, including the skateboard park at Brennan Park, bus shelters, and the latrines at the Smoke Bluffs. While volunteering at the Squamish Trails Society, Harvey built over 20 pedestrian trails, which have lead to the creation of Discovery Trail and Loggers Creek Trail.
Imbeau coaches girls ball, chairs initiatives for the Squamish Skating club, and is a familiar face on the My Squamish Magazine program on Channel 10. She has also worked on the Olympic banner campaign, and has chaired the Sea to Sky Restorative Justice Program where she is a facilitator.Wilbur facilitated the first Youth Entrepreneurship Conference in Squamish in 1996, and she was a resource member of the Youth In Action committee.
She was also the treasurer for four years at the Howe Sound Women's Centre. She was appointed to the Squamish Chamber of Commerce Board in 2002, and has served as the president of the Squamish chapter of the 小蓝视频 Federation of Foster Parents.
Joan Forry works with the Squamish Food Bank and Community Christmas Care. She has spent countless hours delivering food to families and has been known to stop what she is doing to respond to phone calls from families in need. She co-ordinates the Santa Claus Parade, and encourages many individuals to get involved.
Shane and Nikki Sanderson from Marketplace IGA, Kirstin Clausen from the 小蓝视频 Museum of Mining and a co-nomination of Dave and Sandra Heisler from Corsa Cycles and Al and Lorraine Ross from Tantalus Bike Shop were put forward for 2004 Business Person of the Year.
The Sandersons are supporters of Big Brother Big Sisters, the Test of Metal, the Bob McIntosh Triathlon, the Grads and Community Christmas Care.
They allow people to sell tickets at their store, and give to community events.
Clausen ensures that programs are delivered to more than 40,000 people with a budget that only includes 10 per cent of its average $800,000 from government grants or cash donations. She manages a staff of around 16, and has brought together industry, government and community partners for the Britannia Project.
Corsa Cycles and Tantalus Bike Shop were nominated as co-winners of the award. Both shops have demonstrated customer service and community commitment. These shops have led the development of the mountain-biking resource of the town.
The ballots listing the nominations will be sent to members of the Squamish Chamber of Commerce, and the winners will be invited to the Chamber's 71st Annual General Meeting and President's Banquet on Jan. 29, where they will be presented with their awards."This will be the first time the winners are announced at the event," said Patricia Heintzman. "It will add to the excitement of the awards and provide an opportunity to acknowledge all of the nominees who are outstanding role models and contribute to making Squamish a great community."
