Five individuals and two organizations in Abbotsford were honoured Nov. 3 with Community Builders’ Awards (CBA).
The awards, hosted and presented by Archway Community Services, were presented at The Reach Gallery Museum.
Of the individuals honoured, two were recipients of the Flood Heroes Awards in a special category created to recognize those who stepped up during and after the flood that ravaged the Fraser Valley a year ago.
Community Builders’ Award Recipients
• Louise Burns volunteers seven days a week, including three days each week as a driver for Archway Meals on Wheels. Every day, she picks up food donations from Save-On-Foods and prepares meals to give out to marginalized individuals including youth, seniors and those living on the street. She has connected with local organizations such as Ground Zero and Archway to support the needs of the community, and she recently took in a Ukrainian couple who fled the war on their country.
• Thomas McMillan has volunteered or fundraised for countless organizations for more than 30 years. He has actively volunteered for the Western Summer Games, B.C. Senior Summer Games, Communities in Bloom, Ravine Park Salmon Enhancement Society Fraser Valley University Science Fair, Fraser Valley Heritage Fair, Fraser Valley Institute for Canadian Citizenship, and the Salvation Army Kettle Drive. He has received the Rotary Club’s Paul Harris Fellow Award 10 times since 1997.
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• Gwen Settle is well known for her hours of community service to various non-profit organizations, including Matsqui Community Hall, Abbotsford Agrifair, Friends of the Abbotsford Libraries, Operation Red Nose, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce, and the Abbotsford Social Activities Association. Through her involvement with the Abbotsford Farm and Country Market, Settle is the facilitator of the BCAFM Nutrition Coupon Program, where recipients redeem coupons at the market for fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, cheese, and meat.
Flood Heroes Awards
Mayor Henry Braun, in one of his last official engagements, introduced the Flood Heroes category. Braun was also recognized by MLA Pam Alexis for his own “unbelievable leadership” during the flood.
Referencing the pandemic and flooding, Braun said, “It has been during these incredibly challenging times that we were reminded just how important community is, and how much we all need each other.”
• Alison Arends has been actively supporting people affected by floods through a variety of ways, including opening her doors to the community and operating the Crossroads Food Hub out of her barn. The hub offered crockpots of food, warm coffee and free equipment rentals, as well as donating clothing and tools, non-perishable food items and freezer meals. She was giving out up to 70 meals a day at the height of the flooding crisis.
• Gateway Community Church also played an instrumental role in flood-relief efforts. They provided a food pantry, coordinated donations and connected families to lodging, and more than 75 volunteers were involved. They started the Abbotsford Disaster Response Coalition, which has raised more than $1.3 million to help meet gaps for flooding victims. They continue to operate a crisis response centre.
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• Ryan Boese and the team at Clearway Car and Truck Rentals were recognized for their role in organizing and delivering food to isolated communities during peak flooding. Donations were initially delivered by helicopter, and then they sent thousands of pounds of foods via truck, after obtaining approval from the provincial transportation ministry. The Clearway team also organized food donations to the Sumas First Nation Band and helped a Sumas Prairie family move out of the affected flood zone.
• Victoria Kuit put her bookkeeping business on hold and opened up her home to establish the Yarrow Food Hub on No.3 Road. She helped hundreds of people, had thousands of visits, and helped given away tens of thousands of dollars of appliances, tools, coffees, warm meals and frozen dinners. She spent long hours every day for months giving back to the community and providing a listening ear.
Pamela Chatry, Archway board member and CBA chair, recognized that there were many other flood heroes not officially recognized with an award and thanked them for their service.
MLAs Pam Alexis (Abbotsford-Mission) and Bruce Banman (Abbotsford South) surprised all recipients with certificates of appreciation from the B.C. Legislative Assembly.
Banman noted that while he and Alexis are on opposite teams, “The one thing that unites us all is when there is a tragedy of this magnitude.”
