Exemplary Service Award

Tasha Faye Evans has contributed to the betterment of our community in multiple ways through her work in Indigenous relations. She has shown exemplary leadership through the In the Presence of Ancestors house post initiative, which is a multi-year project that brings together five Nations that are among the original caretakers of the Coast Salish lands and waters in and around the place we now call Port Moody. This project is a fundamental foundation of our reconciliation efforts. 

Tasha Faye has been a tireless advocate for the promotion and advancement of Truth and Reconciliation by supporting, participating in, and organizing many events in the community through her work with Indigenous groups and her work at the Noons Creek Hatchery. Tasha Faye’s unwavering commitment has had a positive impact on our community and has brought about a better understanding of the historical significance of our foreshore and waters. 

The Exemplary Civic Service Award recognizes an individual or group that has contributed significantly to Port Moody's current and future well-being by showing leadership, initiative, commitment, and commendable effort. Yolanda Broderick was honoured with this award for her leadership in founding, organizing, and chairing a number of initiatives designed to help those most in need, and for serving as an inspiring mentor and role model for others.

Through her local church community, Broderick founded an annual Thanksgiving Outreach Dinner for those in need in our community. Over the last nine years, this charity event has served over 800 men, women, children, seniors, and new immigrant families. Broderick also helped to re-launch the Tri-Cities Soup Sisters, first launched locally in 2013 by Tara McIntosh. The group cooks three types of soup each month at a local bistro and donates the food to Joy’s Place, a local women’s shelter. 

In addition to her ongoing volunteer work, Broderick is quick to help in emergency situations. In October 2015, a fire in a co-op housing unit in Port Moody left 47 people displaced from their homes. Broderick worked with a small group of volunteers to provide a hot dinner for the families over the Thanksgiving weekend and recruited donations of clothes, toys, and food so that the families could enjoy Christmas.

Recently, at the request of the Rotary Club of Port Moody, Broderick created a sewing group to sew masks for Coast Mental Health, a non-profit organization that helps people with mental illness and people with disabilities. The sewing group was able to give masks out to the parishioners of both All Saints Catholic Church and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

The Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation nominated the Port Moody Fire Fighters Charitable Society and Council was 100% supportive of this nomination.

Since 1913 Port Moody Fire Rescue has been supporting the health and well-being of the City in many ways. Their efforts of off duty Port Moody firefighters prior to their charitable society, which was created in 2015, embodies all the characteristics of an exemplary civic service for our community. They have shown leadership, initiative, commitment and commendable effort for years leading a legacy of leadership.

Pat Dennett was presented the Exemplary Civic Service Award at the re-opening of the Mossom Creek Hatchery in May 2015.

Pat Dennett stepped forward to volunteer his skills as construction manager after the devastating fire in December 2013 that destroyed the Mossom Creek Hatchery. Pat's contribution has been nothing short of extraordinary. As a community volunteer, Pat has contributed over $200,000 in-kind in construction management services. He helped to secure approximately $250,000 in donated materials, equipment, and labour, all through his far-reaching contacts in the construction industry.

Barbara Nuttall was presented the Exemplary Civic Service Award at the Links to Literacy Tournament in August 2015. Barbara has been involved with the community for many years, has served on various civic committees, and has volunteered at numerous City and third-party community events.

Most notably Barbara, as a member of the Port Moody Public Library Board, initiated the Library's Links to Literacy Golf Tournament in 2001. She continued to work as the key organizer of this tournament for 14 years (from 2001 to 2014). The golf tournament has raised more than $350,000 towards enhancing library services with new programs, equipment, collections, and services.

On September 24, 2013, Mayor Mike Clay presented George and Linda Balzer with the first Exemplary Civic Service Award.

George, entrepreneur, innovator, author, pilot and successful businessman is also a talented musician, writer of music and dedicated to the sharing of his love for music. He served on the Joint Public Safety Building Task force in 2002 and partnered with Cultural Services staff to stage the first concert in the new Amphitheatre. Committed to youth becoming their best, George mentored the Teen Entrepreneurial program which produced the famous “Port Moody Bottled Water”.

Linda, “into everything”, from promoting the Chamber of Commerce, Make a Wish Foundation, Douglas College Foundation, Inner Visions and as a founding member of the Port Moody Rotary Club, has served many terms on the Library Board and Parks and Recreation Commission, including the Recreation Centre Expansion Task Force and Fundraising Committee. She is also involved with Hike for Hospice, the Terry Fox Run and Crossroads Hospice.

Together they support causes in other parts of the world and have built houses for single moms, welcomed foreign students into their home and they'll be found at work in all parts of the community. When they're not in the midst of the Summer Sunday season at Rocky Point Park, they are at home producing CDs to sell, with the proceeds going to Share and Hospice, or inviting guests to their home for fundraisers to support artists in Port Moody.