Backgrounder: Announcing the recipients of the 2016 Victoria Leadership Awards

VLA 2016 Backgrounder

The following provides biographical details for the recipients in each of the nine award categories:

LEADERSHIP VICTORIA LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (previously announced) — Judith Armstrong and Nick Marsden

Judith Armstrong and Nick Marsden are long-time volunteer leaders with a passion for people and community. As President and Vice-¬President of Operation Trackshoes (OT) respectively, their combined efforts over 40 years have resulted in the development of OT into British Columbia’s most successful sports festival for people with developmental disabilities.

Judith Armstrong’s sustained leadership has enhanced the lives of local, provincial, national, and international communities for over 45 years. Her passion for assisting others began with a Kiwanis-supported Oak Bay high school club that helped people with disabilities and with her summer work with Easter Seal camps. Her career also followed this path where she initially worked for a year with BC Association for Community Living in the Okanagan, prior to helping start OT in 1971. Her other passion is volunteering with the Canadian Foundation for the Children of Haiti (CFCH) where she serves as Vice-president of the foundation and has a specific role in providing support to Hope Home. In parallel with her volunteering Judith was founder and Executive Director of The Handicapped Recreation Society from 1975 to 1989. She also served as Executive Director of the Vancouver Island Head Injury Society and is currently the Regional Program Coordinator for the Brain Injury Program with Island Health, where she has worked for 25 years.

Nick Marsden’s life has centered on family, teaching mathematics at Camosun College in Victoria (now retired after 42 years of service). In addition to his leadership of OT, for the past 15 years, Nick has also helped coordinate the annual Math Challengers Contest held at Camosun College in which students aged 13 to 15 participate in discovering the wonder and fun of Mathematics. At OT, his work is essential to its annual success. He wrote all the computer programs that OT uses for competitor registration, housing, and scheduling into events. He works tirelessly to meticulously document every aspect of the event to facilitate review, delegation-building and sustaining the OT team in readiness for the annual meet itself.

University of Victoria Community Leadership Award — Frank Low

For 20 years, Frank Low has volunteered his time and support to strength the connections between UVic and the Victoria community. As a branch manager for RBC Royal Bank, Frank brings his business acumen and wisdom to benefit the students at UVic’s Gustavson School of Business.

With roles from conference speaker to mock interviewer to Monopoly Tournament banker, Frank has influenced students and demonstrated the value of community service as part of a successful business career. His successful mentoring of students helps them to make the bridge between campus and career. He is is an ambassador for UVic as well, encouraging local businesses to participate in co-operative education and other on-campus programs.
 
Frank has been involved in governance roles with societies including Victoria Chinese Commerce, Victoria Christian Education Society, BC Children’s Hospital Community Board, and Victoria Chinatown Community Care Foundation. He is a Lifetime Member of Chinatown Care Society.

Rotary Community Leadership Award — Deborah Antonsen

Against the deepening corporatization of newsrooms everywhere in Canada, people are rediscovering the power of the local (or ultra-local) newspaper to get the news that concern them the most. Deborah Antonsen, Administrator of James Bay’s Beacon newspaper, knows this very well.

Since she took over the administration of the Beacon, the publication has grown from 12 to 28 pages and has built a roster of 40 volunteers to write, photograph, proof and lay out the newspaper every month. With concern for issues like traffic, tourism, air quality and overall quality of life, Deborah ensures that the Beacon answers the questions that James Bay residents have.

The power of a community newspaper lies in its ability to reflect the concerns and values of the people it serves; Deborah’s commitment to fairness, integrity and ethical journalism ensures that the Beacon remains a model and example for other community news organizations.

Coast Capital Savings Youth Leadership Award — Jordan Perrault

We don’t always know when an outstanding leader is going to emerge, but it always a gift when it happens. The community is gifted with the leadership of Jordan Perrault, who was the Youth Community Animator for the Youth In Action Neighbourhood Engagement Initiative - a special partnership between the United Way and Coast Capital Savings.

The Youth In Action (YIA) initiative empowered 23 youth aged 15 to 24 who live, learn, work or play in Hillside-Quadra and Esquimalt to create and develop neighbourhood-enhancing projects that are 'for youth and by youth'. Jordan’s approach to this initiative created life-changing experiences for the youth involved. He acted as a role model and leader by providing a safe environment for the Youth In Action Team; by letting the youth take risks and act on their passions, he taught them to elevate their voice and become leaders themselves.

Leadership Victoria Alumni Award — Erika Ladouceur

Victoria is blessed with wonderful waterways and shoreline, and Erika Ladouceur makes sure that everyone can enjoy them with a paddle. As the Director of Youth Programs for VI Paddling, she has successfully organized community events (Family Race Day and The Leif Erikson Viking Fest) and mobilized volunteers to participate in other leadership opportunities.

She trains and manages volunteer coaches to become role models and leaders of the youth paddlers at VI Paddling. She uses her leadership skills to create a shared vision for their members and volunteers, ensuring the future sustainability of the organization both financial and human.

Erika steps in whenever there’s a shortage of volunteers, taking on one, two or even more extra roles to make sure that every event runs smoothly. Her leadership by example inspires others every summer to get involved with VI Paddling and to promote health and fun around Victoria’s waterways.

Royal Roads University Leadership Excellence through Coaching and Mentoring Award — Lily Seto

As the current Coaching Strategist for the Talent Management branch of BC’s Public Service Agency, Lily is responsible for developing coaching standards, and training management as coaches for their employees, bringing the power of The Coach Approach and ensuring that BC’s population is served by well-coached public employees.

Through her work and her formal studies, Lily is dedicated to bringing a coaching culture to all branches of government in the province of BC. She is increasingly becoming known as an expert in coaching management, and her past work at Canada’s Indian and Northern Affairs Ministry is considered a model throughout the federal government.

Never one to forget that good work comes from within, Lily is constantly learning, adjusting and adapting her own coaching approach through formal studies, self-reflection and peer groups. She has inspired many in BC’s government to commit to a coaching approach in their work, which helps improve the quality of services for the entire BC population.

Vancity Social Innovation Award — Amanda Evans

Armed with a sense of purpose and an extraordinary ability to engage the community around her, Amanda Evans has changed the face of Victoria’s ecological groups. As Greater Victoria Green Team leader, Amanda has engaged over 900 volunteers to remove invasive species and collect garbage along our region’s shorelines. This involved collaborating with 42 local organizations and managing thousands of hours of volunteer work.

Amanda has a history of being actively engaged in ecological work. She was the president of her ecological club in high school and founded the Ecological Restoration Volunteer Network while at UVic. She has degrees in environmental studies and ecological restoration.With a deep passion for preserving nature and a profound belief in the power of community, Amanda brings together hundreds of volunteers through dozens of different activities, many of which involve school-age children and youth. Friendly and engaged, she also make sure that every volunteer feels welcome at every activity she organizes, fostering a strong sense of community around the work of restoring our ecological systems.

Victoria Foundation Community Leadership Award — Artemis Place

Artemis Place Society, formerly Artemis Options Society and originally the Victoria Society for Educational Alternatives, was initiated in 1971 in response to a concern over the lack of resources for young women who had left school or who were experiencing difficulty with the traditional school system.  At that time, the society established the Girls’ Alternative Program (GAP) to meet the educational and social needs of young women in a smaller, more personal setting.  As well as help with self-paced course work, girls were given counselling, mentorship and life skills in an atmosphere of safety and respect. For more information, please visit: http://www.artemisplace.org. 

United Way Greater Victoria Award for Collaboration and Partnership — Ready to Rent BC

Ready to Rent BC was founded by a group of citizens and service-related agencies in the Victoria region that came together to find solutions for unstably housed and homeless families. Their first course was piloted in 2009, and Ready to Rent BC (R2R) was incorporated in 2011. Since then, R2R has been steadily expanding to meet the need for pro-active solutions that increase housing stability and prevent homelessness.
R2R provides education that builds the skills, knowledge and confidence of participants while respecting them as adult learners through engaged and participatory curriculum. For more information, please visit: http://www.readytorentbc.org.