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2019 Finalist Educator: Lisa Walls

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It may not have been the first question she asked when she got her new job at Georgia Park Elementary School two years ago, but it was maybe the second.

“What’s going on with that wooded area over there?” she asked on the first day she was supervising recess.

The area was across the school field, and it wasn’t looking great, but she saw its potential.

“I’ve always been about bringing the kids outside, and when I found out it was owned by the city, I called them and asked them if we could play back there. They said yes, so I asked if we could make it better.”

That began the process that has been the reparations of that parkland.

“We’ve been taking out blackberries, and we made this little bridge, and we got in touch with Greenways and they said they’d help us plant some new trees.”

Because kids, she says, need to get outside a little more often, and they need a safe, ecologically sound place to do that.

“Kids need to connect with nature,” she says. “They’re not going to care about it if we don’t help them learn to love it. We spend time out here every week and the kids get to see the same place through the seasonal changes and it’s amazing the things that they notice that they wouldn’t have otherwise noticed.

“And sometimes, they just need to go play. The playground is great, but this, I think, is better.”

2019 Finalist Diversity & Inclusion: John Hollywood

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John Hollywood is the creator and manager of the band Inclusion, which is well known for performances that have raised funds for community groups and brought light into people’s lives through music. 

It’s part of Hollywood’s commitment to a more inclusive world for people with disabilities. 

“I was finding that people often aren’t included in things that are going on, and sometimes wind up segregated,” he said. “I wanted to see if there was a way to change that.” 

He worked professionally in empowerment for people with disabilities in Ontario. Years later, at a community singalong in Campbell River, Hollywood met a young musician with a developmental disability who played an instrument called a Qchord. 

Hollywood knew about another musician in the community who played the keyboard, and decided to see what would happen if they sat down together to make music. They played their first gig in May 2005. 

Since then, the band has grown to include between eight and nine members. As the name Inclusion suggests, the band isn’t restricted to people with disabilities or to any particular group. 

The band has raised funds for individuals and wide array of groups including the Campbell River Foster Parents Association and the Campbell River Syrian Refugee Support Committee.

“The goal of the band is to give back,” Hollywood said. 

A lot of people who don’t “fit the mold” have special gifts, he added. It’s important to find ways for them to realize their potential and thrive. 

“That’s a real need,” he said. 

2019 Finalist Courage & Bravery: Jesse Huffman

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Jesse Huffman was staying at the Salvation Army’s Evergreen House  in January when he extinguished a fire that could have devastated the homeless shelter. 

Huffman had just emerged from the shower when the incident took place. He recalled smelling smoke and investigating with a staff member. They found a mattress and blanket on fire in a bedroom, and the room was filling with smoke. An occupant of the room was present at the time. 

“There was fire all over the bed, and it was starting to catch on the top bunkbed,” Huffman said. “I just turned around, dropped my stuff, grabbed the fire extinguisher and emptied it on the bed.” 

Campbell River Fire Chief Thomas Doherty, who nominated Huffman, said there were 25 occupants in the shelter at the time of the fire. The fire nearly spread to the upper bunkbed, Doherty said.

“Had it not been for the quick action  and bravery by Jesse Huffman, the fire would have grown rapidly, putting the life and safety of not only the occupant in the room in danger, but all other occupants in the building at risk.”

Doherty added that the shelter would also have sustained “significant damage, displacing all occupants” for an extended period of time. 

2019 Finalist Courage & Bravery: Janny Bird

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When Janny Bird intervened in a dog attack in March 2017, she took control of a situation that could have turned out much worse.

Caroline Kennard and a friend were walking their leashed dogs when the incident took place. They noticed two loose dogs coming up the street. One of them approached and attacked Kennard’s dog, clenching its teeth on her dog’s hind legs. After a struggle, Kennard said, she was able to throw her pet over a hedge. Moments later, Kennard’s friend tried to protect her own small dog, holding it in her arms, as the much larger dog attacked. 

Janny Bird, who was at home nearby, heard screaming. She grabbed a leash hanging by the door 

and ran towards the noise. 

“I could tell what was going on,” said Bird, who is a dog trainer and a medical exercise specialist. 

She found the large dog on top of the woman, its jaws clenched on her arm and shaking her. 

Bird managed to restrain the attacking dog, which weighed perhaps 70-80 pounds, by wrapping the leash around its waist, lifting it off the ground and pulling it away from the woman. The dog turned and tried to attack Bird, but she was able to keep it at a distance and suspended from the ground. 

Bird told the other women to get away from the scene, and then alerted her neighbour, an off-duty policeman who happened to appear nearby. Police, ambulance and animal control soon arrived. “Without the quick, brave, smart action of Janny Bird, a terrible situation would have turned tragic,” Kennard said.

2019 Finalist Community Volunteer: Marcus Willems

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The Beaver Lodge Forest Lands, with its network of trails, is one of the community’s most beloved recreation areas.

One of the people responsible for looking after this community gem is Marcus Willems. He started working on local trails after he retired some six years ago. He got involved with Greenways Land Trust about four years ago.

“I started off by adopting a trail,” he says.

His work includes clearing brush and other debris, as well as making sure there is proper drainage for the trail network.

“I just really enjoy working on trails,” he says. “It’s a great interaction between people and the environment.”

He is setting a good example for young people about the importance of stewardship by educating and working with school groups, who help clear the trails. Marcus also volunteers his time with the local hospice society, which he started doing after his wife passed away, and has a walking group for participants in hospice. 

Finally, he sits on the Beaver Lodge Forest Lands Trust Committee, which is made up of many stakeholders charged with making sure this natural area remains a prized asset of Campbell River.

2019 Finalist Community Volunteer: Anne Roberts

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With so many good causes in Campbell River, Anne Roberts works to help as many of them as she can.

She divides her time between shifts at ReStore, the second-hand store operated by Habitat for Humanity Vancouver Island North, or the local thrift store that supports Campbell River Hospice. She also plans to help with the women’s build group for Habitat for Humanity.

She’ll help out the Museum at Campbell River by giving her time for special events, and she also assists the local chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star with its special events, such as bake sales.

“I’ve done all kinds of other volunteering in the city,” she says. “I’m always busy.”

She moved to Campbell River in 1950 and started giving her time as a volunteer when she was about 12 or 13. 

When asked what motivates her to lend her efforts to many groups, her answer is simple. 

“It’s because people need help. They’ll just phone me, and I come up and help,” she says. 

“I love giving back.”

2019 Finalist Community Builder: Stacey Larsen

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Stacey Larsen is a community advisor for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). It’s a role that she says was best summarized by a colleague: “We help people help fish.” 

She works with First Nations and other groups on salmon enhancement projects across northern Vancouver Island and surrounding areas including Cortes Island, Phillips River and Gilford Island.   

Larsen is also known for her public service as a volunteer with a variety of environmental groups, including the Greenways Land Trust, Campbell River Salmon Foundation and Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society, and for serving as a representative on the city’s Advisory Planning and Environment Commission.

In her various roles, she has bridged the gap between the community and administrative bodies, making sure people’s voices are heard. But she says that a lot of credit is due to the larger community.  

“I think that the passion of the groups and the people that I work with is what keeps me motivated,” she says.

2019 Finalist Community Builder: Geoff Payne

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Geoff Payne is a well-known fixture in the local mountain biking scene. He serves as treasurer for the River City Cycle Club and heads the trails committee, helping to spearhead the construction and maintenance of authorized trails in partnership with BC Parks and Recreation Sites & Trails BC.

“It’s putting back into something you’re using, and other community members can benefit as well,” he says, adding that credit should go to the club more generally.

Payne works with crews of volunteers, facilitating workshops on sustainable trail construction and maintenance techniques. Since 2008, the club has rerouted roughly 6 km of trails in the Snowden Demonstration Forest and 2 km in Elk Falls Provincial Park to address safety, environmental and sustainability issues, he says.

“We’ve tried to incorporate the new knowledge of trail construction and maintenance techniques, and how to make them more sustainable and require less maintenance into the future, as well as fun for riders,” he says, noting that it benefits not only mountain bikers, but other trail users such as runners, hikers and people that just enjoy being out on the trails.

2019 Finalist Coach of the Year: Hugh Gurney

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Often, new teams struggle, but that wasn’t the case for the North Island Cubs in their first season.

Joining AAA midget baseball in 2018, the team is made up of kids generally aged 15 to 17 from around the region, including several from Campbell River.

On the field, the Cubs, with coach Hugh Gurney at the helm, exceeded what anyone would’ve expected, placing second to the North Fraser Nationals. 

“We went right to the finals of the provincials,” Hugh says. “It was a good start for us.”

Hugh credits a strong parent group and the community for helping pull the baseball team together.

“We got some good support and some good backing,” he says. “I haven’t done it all by myself.”

Several players earned all-star honours, and a few played with the provincial team and signed letters of intent to play college baseball.

“It’s nice to see,” he says. “There’s a lot of good talent.”

Hugh, who also coaches ice hockey, credits the coaching he got in both sports growing up, and he is more than happy to take his turn as a leader and example for young athletes now.

“It’s fun. It’s really rewarding,” he says.

2019 Finalist Coach of the Year: Bryce Cockburn

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Bryce Cockburn started playing hockey in Campbell River before moving on to play junior A hockey, in the NCAA and professionally.

Now back home, he is giving back to local minor hockey players and coaches through Next Level Training, started almost a decade ago as a way to share his love of hockey. 

“This is our ninth year,” he says.

He ran hockey camps through Next Level part-time for several years while continuing to work a regular job, but for the last two years he’s been doing this work full-time. At present, he is the only Hockey Canada-certified skills coach on Vancouver Island. A couple of years ago, he was chosen for one of 24 spots to go to Calgary to be Hockey Canada certified level three skills coach. His next step is training as an advanced skills coach.

“I just got accepted to do that this year,” he says.

In March he was among a select group of dozen or so coaches chosen for the Hockey Canada Advanced Coaching Program — a group that included NHL skills coaches from the Vegas Golden Knights and Toronto Maple Leafs. “I was very happy and honoured to get selected,” he says.