Professor, fossil-hunter and dedicated volunteer Graham Beard is the Qualicum Beach 2016 Citizen of the Year.
Beard was honoured at the 2016 Community Awards Gala on Feb. 15 at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, a sold-out event organized by the Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Each year, the chamber honours individuals and businesses for their contribution to the community. This celebration follows a nomination period during which Qualicum Beach residents and visitors are encouraged to nominate those they consider deserving of recognition.
This sold out event began last Wednesday night with guests having beverages and perusing showcase display tables
"Extreme Eatz supplied an excellent gourmet meal that highlighted crab cake appetizers, chicken parmesan, and was completed with assorted desserts with a Forgotten Lover's Flair," said a news release from the chamber.
Dave Graham from 88.5 The Beach was the night's emcee and hosted a lively evening full of celebration and acknowledgement.
The keynote speaker was Matt Drake, who spent most of last year in Qualicum Beach producing the Hallmark Channel's new flagship series Chesapeake Shores. Drake said the series will be back to Qualicum beach to film in 2017 and he spoke about the series and highlights of the 2016 production year.
There were more than 50 nominations for this year's community awards.
Here's a look the awards, their sponsors, all of the finalists and the winner:
Business of the Year:
Sponsored by the Career Centre
Cruise Plus
Arbutus Dental Clinic (winner)
Volunteer of the Year:
Sponsored by Society of Organized Services
Michelle Genereux
Eva Hilborn (winner)
John McLenahan
Outstanding Customer Service:
Sponsored by Pharmasave #182
Emily Dunsmore – The Source
Anthony Cummings – Lefty's Fresh Foods
Greg Payne- New Found Comfort Renovation and Repair
John Beever – Pharmasave #182 (winner)
New Business of the Year:
Sponsored by Katherine Wilk - Royal LePage - Parksville Qualicum Beach Realty
Alcove (winner)
Coombs Signs
Olive This and More
Newsmaker of the Year:
Sponsored by The Parksville Qualicum Beach News
Chesapeake Shores (winner)
Berwick Retirement Communities
Citizen of the Year:
Sponsored by Qualicum Foods
Graham Beard (winner)
Michael Addiscott
Also presented was the Coastal Community Credit Union Lifetime Achievement Award to Diane Kellas of ReMAX First Realty in Parksville.
The Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce would like to thanks the volunteers who helped to make this evening a success and the support of their generous sponsors:
The Parksville Qualicum Beach News, Society of Organized Services, Katherine Wilk from Royal LePage - Parksville Qualicum Beach Realty, Qualicum Foods, Pharmasave #182 Qualicum Beach, the Career Centre, and Coastal Community Credit Union.
— NEWS Staff/Qualicum Beach
Chamber of Commerce news release