A special visitor at Edmonds

A special visitor at Edmonds
Here and Now column by Dan Hilborn, Burnaby NOW assistant editor
Published March 1, 2003

The students at Edmonds elementary rolled out the red carpet for real on Feb. 21 when they had a special visit from the Queen's official representative in our province, the Hon. Iona Campagnolo, lieutenant governor of British Columbia.
"It was fantastic," said former city councillor Gary Begin, who invited the L-G to the school as part of his regular Friday afternoon readings to the children at one of Burnaby's most ethnically diverse schools.
"She talked to the kids about how you can grow up with nothing and still achieve your dreams," said Begin. "She talked about her life as a little girl around the fish canneries in Prince Rupert and how, through her determination and encouragement and learning, she was able to become something.
"And she encouraged the kids to do the same."
Campagnolo brought and read two storybooks to the children - one about B.C. First Nations and the other a short mystery - and then donated the two books to the school library.
The students responded by really laying out the red carpet and even dressing up Campangolo's reading chair to look like a red- covered throne before standing crisply at attention and singing O Canada for their vice-regal visitor.
The students also used the occasion to write letters to Queen Elizabeth and then, as a token of thanks, gave flowers and a reading book to Campagnolo to take home and read to her own great-grandson.
Begin first met the future lieutenant governor about 25 years ago, when she was president of the B.C. School Trustees Association and he was a Burnaby school trustee.
DOUG'S MEDAL
Former mayor Doug Drummond was among 112 people to receive the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in a ceremony this week at Government House in Victoria.
Drummond, who served on Burnaby city council for 27 years, was handed the honour in a ceremony presided over by Lt.-Gov. Iona Campagnolo and Premier Gordon Campbell.
Other medals went to some of the most prominent community and business activists in the city, including: noted broadcaster Sushma Datt, the owner of private sideband radio station Rim Jihm; retired SFU athletic director Lorne Davies; Telus chair and former CEO Brian Canfield; Kazuko Komatsu, president and CEO of Pacific Western Brewing Company; former B.C. Tel executive and current SFU director Gordon F. MacFarlane; Burnaby Multicultural Association leader Beverly Nann; TransCanada Glass cofounder Arthur Skidmore; and Henry Hiroshi Wakabayashi, one of the guiding lights behind the founding of the National Nikkei Heritage Centre.
We have also recently learned that Burnaby resident and long- time community volunteer Bob Stewart was awarded the same medal last year.
SFU is handing out its own alumni awards this week, and topping the list of honourees is former B.C. premier Ujjal Dosanjh.
Other award winners are Ron Bakshi of Silent Witness Inc., for his contributions to the security industry; Mary Williams of the Institute for Marine Dynamics for her role in developing the Mountain Equipment Co-op; and Reza Pourvali, an SFU student who is active on three SFU senate committee and volunteers at both Fellburn Care Centre and Burnaby Hospital.