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2022 Civic Award Winners

[Photo: front row, seated from left to right: 2022 Civic award winners Mike Arseneault (Arts Award), Dave Bennie (Environment Award), Brianne Egeto (Heritage Award), and Tracey Schaeffer (Arts Award); back row, standing from left to right: Councillor Amy Lubik, Councillor Kyla Knowles, Councillor Haven Lurbiecki, Councillor Diana Dilworth, Mayor Meghan Lahti, Councillor Samantha Agtarap, and Councillor Callan Morrison.]

On January 14, 2023, the City of Port Moody honoured the winners of the 2022 Civic Awards at a volunteer appreciation gala.

“On behalf of our Council and the community, I would like to thank our four award winners for giving their time and energy to help make our city a better place,” said Mayor Meghan Lahti. “Port Moody is home to many creative and innovative people who believe that a connected community is a strong community. By sharing their passion, energy, and expertise, our 2022 Civic Awards recipients are making a difference every day and we truly appreciate their efforts.”

The Civic Awards are presented annually to deserving people, organizations, and businesses that have made significant contributions to the community in up to six categories: accessibility, arts, climate action, environment, heritage, and sport.

For 2022, there were four recipients in three categories:

ARTS 

The Arts Award celebrates an individual, organization, or business that significantly contributes to, and participates in, the artistic/cultural life of the community. 

Mike Arseneault

Mike Arseneault was recognized for his contributions to the arts and business community, and for his incredible leadership and commitment to community building. He is the founder of Ioco Players Port Moody Theatre Arts, which presented several performances and table readings in 2022. Arseneault also contributes to the community through the PoMo Foodies Facebook group and his quarterly newsletter Ioco News. He has been described as a brand builder, strategist, designer, storyteller, published author, theatre producer, director, performer, connector, and cultural curator. Although Arseneault has only been a Port Moody resident for a short time, he is known for his passion, energy, and commitment to building an exciting, cohesive, and supportive community.

Tracey Schaeffer

Tracey Schaeffer was honoured for being the passionate visionary behind the 2022 Frantic Breeze Fast Film Competition. The competition had teams of filmmakers write, film, and edit a short film in just 72 hours. In taking on the challenge of organizing this successful event, Schaeffer presented a three-day youth film workshop in partnership with the Port Moody Public Library, hired support staff, arranged for promotional materials, attended film-related events to promote this new event, secured sponsorship, and managed the event budget. Schaeffer has been described as an enthusiastic planner who brought joy to the process of organizing Frantic Breeze, which she saw as both a special arts event for the community and a way to promote the city itself. 

ENVIRONMENT

The Environment Award is given to an individual, organization, or business that advances environmental preservation and awareness in Port Moody.

Dave Bennie

Dave Bennie was honoured for his many years of volunteer work stewarding Noons Creek and educating our community and young people. Bennie is currently the vice-president of the Port Moody Ecological Society, a local stewardship group that operates Noons Creek Hatchery, where he spends countless hours volunteering. He has an in-depth understanding of salmon life cycles, streams, and local history, which he shares through the many outreach events that he is involved with as director of special events and school programs. The annual Fingerling Festival coincides with the release of young salmon, and Bennie has helped grow this event into a popular environmental fair that attracts thousands of participants across Metro Vancouver. He has also been a key supporter of Indigenous collaboration at the hatchery, including the In the Presence of Ancestors project led by local First Nation artists and Knowledge Keepers.

HERITAGE 

The Heritage Award honours an individual, organization or business that advances heritage conservation in Port Moody through special initiatives or projects that preserve, rehabilitate, restore, or create awareness of a cultural resource.

Brianne Egeto

Brianne Egeto was recognized for her pivotal role in organizing events and supporting heritage in the community. In the past decade, Egeto has supported programs for children, summer student training, and First Nations awareness through exhibits at the Port Moody Station Museum. She creates collections and displays at the museum, volunteers to digitize archival materials, and creates and updates programs for the community (e.g. Family Day events and programs for a variety of different audiences such as moms and tots or people who are learning English as a second language). Egeto is highly involved with the annual Ioco Ghost Town Day Festival and has recently helped to coordinate the Ioco Legacy project and took part in creating an Ioco Memories digital book and signage throughout the Ioco Townsite.