Burnaby activists recognized by city hall

Burnaby activists recognized by city hall
Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published Oct. 9, 2002

A long list of community activists will receive Local Hero awards from Burnaby city council next month.
This year's recipients included people from all walks of life, including environmental groups, business, and other groups.
The award recipients are:
Elizabeth Briemberg, Burnaby Family Life Institute; Steve Cairns, principal of Buckingham elementary; Millie Canessa, community organizer; Kenny Chan, Eastburn and Edmonds community centres; Jack Cyr, Variety Hotelier House Children's Centre; Harvey Elder, East Burnaby Ratepayers Association; Richard Harvey, Red Cross; Reg and Ethel Hawthorne, Burnaby Hospital Auxiliary; Vivian Henderson, community activist; Gail Klarer, Burnaby Seniors Outreach Services Society; Kenny So Ying Leung, International Red Cross; Nick Lutz, Metro Monarch Lions Club; Eleanor MacQueen, Burnaby Hospital Auxiliary; Merv Magus, Burnaby Sports Hall of Fame; Sev Morin, community activist; Regina Ogmundson, Big Sisters; Hugh Robertson, Lougheed Community Police Office; Norm Sandercock, Burnaby Historical Society; and Bernice Wiseman, Edmonds community centre.
The awards will be handed out during a city council meeting in November. Including this year's winners, Burnaby has given out 72 Local Hero awards since the inception of the program in 1997.
DOUBLE DIAMOND DAYS
Kudos go to Les 'Slim' and Fern Duncton of South Burnaby, who will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary (their double diamond anniversary) on Friday. Oct. 11.
The happy couple first met in Winnipeg during the Great Depression, and proved that living through tough times could only make their relationship stronger.
Les served nearly 30 years with Canadian Pacific Airlines and moved his young family to Burnaby in 1949 during the one of the first big shake-ups in the Canadian airline industry. Fern once operated a hot dog stand in Winnipeg before settling down to raise a family.
The couple have three daughters, Fern, who is married to Harvey Balcaen and lives in Winnipeg; June and Doc Street of Langley, and Carolyn of Port Coquitlam. they also have 11 grandchildren, and at last count there were 20 great grandchildren.
Slim, as he was known, was always willing to help out as thehandyman around the house, while Fern fondly remembers the lively dances where she and her husband would kick up their heels at the Cannery.
UNVEILING AMANDA'S RAINBOW
Beverly Hillstrom, the daughter of former Hillstrom gas station owner Dorothy Hillstrom, will be hosting a book launch ceremony at the Chapters bookstore in Coquitlam's Pinetree Village shopping centre this Friday night.
Her book Amanda's Rainbow describes the heart wrenching loss of her eldest daughter, who died from a rare form of brain tumour that was diagnosed while her family was on vacation in California.
The title comes from Amanda's own description of the horrific pain she suffered due to the rare ailment known as a brain stem glioma.
Amanda's Rainbow is a tragic tale that offers much insight into the wondrous advances in the medical fields as well as a personal release for the author, who suffered the greatest loss a parent can ever feel.
Amanda was only two and a half years old when she died in her mother's arms in Royal Columbian Hospital on Oct. 28, 1998.
RUN FOR THE CURE
Several local businesses were front and centre when the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's CIBC Run for the Cure fundraiser attracted a record 10,500 participants this year.
The Telus Community Connections team was the most successful corporate fundraiser at the event, bringing in $43,548; while Abreast in a Boat, a group of local dragon boat racers who often practice at Barnet Marine Park, was the most prolific community fundraising team, bringing in a healthy $18,828.
Metrotown Metropolis also participated by sponsoring the school team challenge award, which went to Crofton House school for raising $6,748.
The 2002 CIBC Run for the Cure had raised almost $830,000 by Sunday afternoon, well above the previous fundraising record of $722,000, and the money was still coming in. That's cause for celebration all around.