PHOTOS: Here's the winners of Kelowna's 49th annual Civic and Community Awards

The winners of Kelowna’s 49th annual Civic and Community Awards were announced at the Laurel Packinghouse on Wednesday night.

Every year, the city opens up nominations for the awards, which gives the community a chance to recognize outstanding Kelowna residents, volunteers, athletes, artists, non-profits and businesses who have made a positive impact on the city.

Finalists are honoured at a gala each spring and they receive a plaque with their name on it at Jim Stuart Park.

Here’s a list of all the winners this year.

The Anita Tozer Memorial Award, which is bestowed by mayor and council, was awarded to Barry Lapointe Wednesday night.

This is awarded to an individual or group in recognition of an extraordinary and positive contribution to the quality of life in Kelowna.

Lapointe has been heavily involved with the KF Aerospace and the Centre of Excellence.

According to the city, he’s served on dozens of public and private boards and supported community colleges and foundations across Canada and in 2015, he was appointed to the Order of BC and four years later, inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

The Bob Giordano Memorial Award is awarded to an individual who has contributed significantly to Kelowna through voluntary service to amateur sport, such as coaching or administrative support.

Cheryl Browne was honoured with the award for her dedication over the past dozen years to KidSport Kelowna. The city says that she has been the name, face and passion behind the Kelowna chapter and has helped hundreds of kids get involved in sports.

The Bryan Couling Memorial Award is awarded to a Kelowna based team (amateur or professional) who brought the greatest amount of recognition to Kelowna in 2023.

The KSS Owls AAA Boys Volleyball Team were recognized for their phenomenal accomplishment of securing the Valley Championships, Best of the West Tournament and AAA Provincials in 2023. The city says the team has “cemented their name into the BC High School Sports history books.”

Malindi Elmore was awarded with the Female Athlete of the Year Award. Elmore is ranked the top female marathon and half-marathon runner in Canada. Currently, she is preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics, her third trip to the games.

Justin Towill was handed the Male Athlete of the Year Award for his success at becoming the individual winner of the 2022 Canada West Golf Championships, Justin did the impossible in 2023 and, after three holes of overtime, clinched the individual title for the second time in a row

Emma Pinkerton was recognized with the Augie Ciancone Memorial Award – Young Female Athlete. She is captain of both KSS Girls’ Basketball and Field Hockey teams while maintaining a 91.2% average at KSS. She is also a member of the Grad Council, volunteers with the Central Okanagan Food Bank and is a member of the Kiwanis Club.

Nash Semeniuk was handed the Augie Ciancone Memorial Award – Young Male Athlete. He is a multiple MVP and all-star winning captain for both KSS Senior Basketball and Volleyball teams. He has helped lead the volleyball team to back-to-back provincial championships and the basketball team to 5th and 4th place finishes, all while holding a 3.2 GPA.

The Teen Honour in the Arts Award was awarded to Ben Anderson, who has over 100 stage performances under his belt. His 2023 lead roles at OKM included Gomez in The Addams Family Musical, Max in The Play That Goes Wrong, Ringmaster in Elephant’s Graveyard and soloist leading his section in the school’s Chamber Choir. At New Vintage Theatre, Ben directs and teaches youth drama classes and has had lead roles in two 2023 productions.

In addition to the award, he will also receive a $500 entrance scholarship for the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies or other selected UBCO faculty.

The Honour in the Arts Award, which is Awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in Kelowna through cultural and/or artistic efforts, was handed to Stephen Jefferys, who is the cofounder of Shakespeare Kelowna, formed over 30 years ago. Stephen has also been involved with all our community’s theatre groups and last fall, directed and produced the new Trident Player’s production of The Fighting Season.

The Central Okanagan Foundation’s Volunteer Organization of the Year Award was awarded to the Okanagan Forest Task Force for taking “environmental protection into their own hands.” In 2023, the group hauled out approximately 800 pounds of garbage dumped along Beaver Lake Road. The city says that’s only a small fraction of the more than 250,000 pounds they picked up in the last year and in previous years.

They will receive a $3,00 donation form the Central Okanagan Foundation.

The Corporate Community of the Year Award was awarded to MNP for their staff’s volunteer events. The city says that more than 80 team members contributed over 500 hours across 17 different charitable events, organizations and fundraising efforts last year.

Farming Karma Fruit Company secured the Champion for the Environment Award.

“From juicing fruit that isn’t quite up to store quality, using fully recyclable packaging, to turning leftover pumice into cattle feed, Farming Karma is constantly looking to improve their processes make them more eco-friendly,” the city says.

Milt Stevenson was honoured with the Fred Macklin & Sarah Donalda-Treadgold Memorial Award – Citizen of the Year for his work with the South Slopes Society—an organization dedicated to constructing and maintaining trails and facilities spread over hundreds of kilometers of recreational trails.

The city says his commitment to healthcare is also notable with hours of volunteer work under his belt and his involvement in developing the Rutland Community Clinic.

Tor Broughton was recognized with the Young Citizen of the Year Award for his work in finding Kelowna Street Outreach in 2022, which has fed over 1200 unhoused people and provided much-needed supplies. The organization now has 20 volunteers.

Broughton also volunteers at KGH, mentors grade 12 students, he is a practice patient for UBC’s medical program and was the Keynote Speaker in UBC’s Continuing Professional Development webinar entitled Trans and Gender-Diverse Youth.

Broughton will receive $2,000 towards their post-secondary education through the Payton and Dillon Budd Memorial Fund Youth Scholarship. The two remaining finalists will receive $1,000.