Council honours 14 Port Moody individuals or groups with awards for service to the community

On December 8, 2020, during a Regular Meeting of Council held electronically, Port Moody City Council announced awards for 14 individuals or groups who have made valuable contributions to the community. The City congratulates all of this year’s award recipients and thanks them for their service. 

Exemplary Civic Service Award – Yolanda Broderick: 

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. 

2020 Civic Awards – Derek Wilson, Brenda Millar, Aniela Guzikowski, Carla Scott, McLellan family, Brandon Kirby, John Macdonald, and Sharron Tulk: 

The Civic Awards are given out annually to recognize deserving people, organizations, and businesses for service to the community in five categories: accessibility, arts, environment, heritage, and sport. 

ACCESSIBILITY 

The Peter Hulbert Accessibility Award honours an individual, business, community group, educator, or government agency that goes above and beyond expectations in removing barriers for individuals with disabilities. 

Derek Wilson was recognized for his many years of advocating for the accessibility needs of residents in all parts of the city, particularly in Glenayre where he has helped to bring about a number of improvements – such as curb letdowns, sidewalk installations, and street lighting – that have made the neighbourhood more walkable and safe. From 2014 to 2020, Wilson organized and delivered the Handy Helper minor home repair program for clients of the United Way’s Better at Home program, offered through SHARE Family and Community Services. Home repairs completed through this program included the installation of grab bars, hand-held shower heads, and single-handle faucets in bathrooms and kitchens to assist clients with disabilities. 

ARTS 

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

Brenda Millar was honoured for her vision for, and work on, the Queens Street Plaza Placemaking Project. Queens Street Plaza was an underused area of the city and her vision was to make it a flexible space where people could gather to talk, read, paint, and attend special events. Millar thought the Plaza needed a central art piece and conceived the idea of the canoe planter that is now in place. The canoe was painted by an Indigenous artist and is used to hold flowers that add colour to the Plaza. Millar ensured the community had input and came together to bring the project to life. She also contributed items to fill toy boxes so that children can have a great experience at the Plaza. 

ENVIRONMENT 

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

Aniela Guzikowski, a 13-year-old student, was honoured for inspiring others through her actions and for raising awareness of important environmental issues. She has been an outstanding volunteer at Mossom Creek Hatchery since she was 10, taking a leadership role in water quality testing, fish husbandry, and visitor orientation. Guzikowski is also an accomplished public speaker who brought a cigarette butt awareness campaign to three municipal councils when she was 11. She also raised awareness of the dangers of cigarette butts through broadcast media and by speaking at large public events including TEDx. At community events, Guzikowski has distributed pocket ashtrays which she was able to fund with a grant from the City. 

Carla Scott was recognized for working tirelessly throughout the Tri-Cities to protect bears and educate area residents about the need for improved management of wildlife attractants. She founded the “Port Moody, Tri-Cities Bear Aware” Facebook group, which shares information and tips on how to manage wildlife attractants and help improve the situation for bears in our neighborhoods. Focusing on the proper management of garbage and green waste carts, Scott has distributed countless information pamphlets and shared her knowledge with residents who live in areas with frequent bear activity. She has also volunteered with the Harvest Fruit Rescue group, which helps to reduce attractants by harvesting fruit from trees in our community. This year the group harvested 600 pounds of fruit which went to the Critter Care Wildlife Society. 

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. 

The McLellan family was recognized for their efforts to support the Port Moody Heritage Society and the Port Moody Station Museum. The contributions of Kelly, Jeff, Emily, and Madison McLellan include initiating and fundraising for Christmas Lights at the Museum, fundraising for Ioco Ghost Town Day and, most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading online Easter and Mother’s Day celebrations. The McLellan family has dedicated countless hours to the preservation and celebration of Port Moody’s heritage. 

SPORTS 

The Sports Award is presented to local athletes, teams, or “builders” (e.g. coaches, officials, sports medicine practitioners, etc.) who are positive role models and encourage young people to get involved in sports and lead healthy lifestyles. 

Brandon Kirby was honoured for his accomplishments both in the lacrosse box and within the lacrosse community. Kirby played for the Port Moody Thunder Lacrosse Association and was selected to play for the Team BC Box Lacrosse team – this team achieved second place in the 2019 National Tournament. At the age of 12, he was selected to play for the U15 Team BC Field Lacrosse Team at the SandStorm National Tournament; as a result of Kirby’s performance, he was selected for the Evolve World Field Lacrosse team for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In early 2020, he also began refereeing minor box lacrosse. More than just an exceptional athlete, Kirby works hard to support his team and the broader lacrosse community through sportsmanship, teamwork, refereeing, and the mentorship of fellow young athletes. 

John Macdonald was recognized for his accomplishments as a football and rugby player and a coach. Macdonald won a gold medal for rugby at the 1984 BC Summer Games. He also played for the SFU football team from 1984 to 1988, serving as a team captain in his final two seasons. He suited up for the BC Lions in 1989 and 1990 and travelled to Russia to coach football during the 1991 off-season. Although he was offered a spot with the Calgary Stampeders that year, Macdonald returned to SFU to finish his degree and work as an assistant coach. Now a deputy fire chief with Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency Services, he coaches high school football and minor hockey and volunteers with firefighter charitable programs. 

Sharron Tulk was recognized for her leadership as well as her service and commitment to the hockey community. For eight years, Tulk volunteered with the Port Moody Amateur Hockey Association (PMAHA), leading an exceptional team of volunteers as president from 2012 to 2019. Her goals as a leader were to ensure that the PMAHA community is a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible space for athletes, families, and supporters. During her time as president, PMAHA secured partnerships with the Vancouver Canucks Learn to Play and Canadian Tire/Bauer First Shift programs, which ensured that the youngest players had access to free equipment and opportunities for hockey development. These programs also allowed the board to establish a coach-in-training program for U18 players. 

COVID-19 Community Service Award – Kost Klip Manufacturing, Ken Kuhn, Jeff McLellan, Ladawne Shelstad, and Stellava Ventures: 

Council created the COVID-19 Community Service Award to recognize individuals, community groups, or businesses that have gone above and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic to serve neighbours in need, vulnerable groups, or the broader community. 

Kost Klip Manufacturing was recognized for donating face shields to organizations in and around our community. 

Ken Kuhn was recognized for his efforts to support older residents in our community through the creation of a bi-weekly newsletter called Staying Connected, which includes important resources for those in need of assistance as well as articles to help seniors through the isolation and anxiety caused by COVID-19. 

Jeff McLellan was honoured for his many efforts to help the community, such as: organizing multiple fundraising initiatives for SHARE Family and Community Services; offering a story time for kids through Facebook Live; picking up plants for people who did not feel comfortable leaving their house; spearheading a gardening project with Mary Anne Cooper, a recipient of Port Moody’s highest honour, the Freedom of the City award; encouraging people to support local businesses; planning giveaways to encourage people to get creative and show their community spirit; and organizing free ice cream pints for all Port Moody Grade 12 graduates.  

Ladawne Shelstad was recognized for cultivating community spirit and inspiring her neighbours to get creative and come together while staying apart. Shelstad and her daughter decided to cover their garage door with chalk art as a way to lift their spirits. Soon, Shelstad had added chalk art to some of her neighbours’ garage doors and inspired others to do the same. The result was a lane full of creative images with themes of hope and gratitude. Shelstad also put together kits of chalk and art supplies that she offered for sale with the goal of raising money for SHARE Family and Community Services.  

Stellava Ventures was honoured for donating hand sanitizer to organizations in our community.

[Correction notice dated December 11, 2020 at 8:40am: The statement that Yolanda Broderick established the Tri-Cities Soup Sisters was inaccurate and has been changed to "Broderick helped to re-launch the Tri-Cities Soup Sisters, first launched locally in 2013 by Tara McIntosh."]