British Columbia Magazine

Do you have a B.C. hero? 

Every January, the provincial Honours and Awards Secretariat accepts nominations for the Order of British Columbia. If your B.C. hero has made an outstanding contribution to society—through community leadership, the arts, business, volunteer service, research, education, or any other other field—he or she could be selected for the province’s highest award for excellence and achievement.

“Since the order’s inception in 1990, 259 British Columbians have been awarded our province’s highest honour,” says the Honourable Steven Point, Lieutenant Governor and Chancellor of the Order of British Columbia. “I encourage everyone to consider nominating those citizens who you feel may be deserving of the order for their significant contribution toward the greater good of our society.”

It’s fascinating to review the list of past winners and read about their accomplishments. I’m pleased to see that several of my own B.C. heroes have already been honoured: 

Environmental scientist and educator David Suzuki received his Order of B.C. in 1995. Haida carver Bill Reid was awarded the prize in 1994. 

Women’s rights activist Margaret Mitchell won hers in 2000. “Man-in-motion” Rick Hansen, spokesperson for the disabled: 1990. Rainforest conservationist Vicky Husband: 2000. And river conservationist Mark Angelo: 1998.

You have until March 10, 2008, 5 p.m., to submit your nominations. Nomination forms and more information are available online from the Honours and Awards Secretariat in Victoria.

The 2008 recipients will be selected by an independent advisory council headed by B.C.’s chief justice, and announced in May.

British Columbia Magazine has the best readers in the world. Not a week goes without at least one letter in our editorial mailbox praising the quality of the stories, photography, and design in each issue.

Thank you, dear readers, for those letters. They encourage us time and again to remember who we really work for–you!–and why we work the long hours we do to find *just* the right photograph or the perfect turn of phrase to describe a wilderness scene or wildlife encounter.

We’re also spurred on in our work by the acknowledgement we receive from our colleagues. One of the most important accolades we can receive are awards from the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA), a group of 45 member magazines that represent regions as diverse as Arizona, Maine, Montana, Vermont, and Oklahoma.

On October 7, 2007, British Columbia Magazine received six IRMA awards for our work in 2006, acknowledging top-notch design and photo editing, story research, writing, and editing in the following categories:

BRONZE for General Feature, “Elvis! Elvis! Elvis!” by Vancouver writer Daniel Wood, Summer 2006.

BRONZE for Reader Service Feature, “Coolest Fernie” by British Columbia Magazine editors Anita Willis, Shanna Baker, and Robyn Swanson, Winter 2006.

AWARD OF MERIT for Nature Feature, “Our last spotted owls” by British Columbia Magazine contributing editor Larry Pynn, Spring 2006.

AWARD OF MERIT for Overall Art Direction, awarded to British Columbia Magazine art director Ken Seabrook, all 2006 issues.

AWARD OF MERIT for Art Direction of a Single Story, “Coolest Fernie” designed by Ken Seabrook, Winter 2006.

AWARD OF MERIT for Cover, “900+ Parks,” designed by Ken Seabrook, Summer 2006.

The IRMA awards we brought home this year really celebrate the creative skills of our hard-working magazine team. “Coolest Fernie” was researched and written completely by our in-house editorial staff, and the reader feedback on that article was enormously positive. And we’re thrilled that our talented art director, Ken Seabrook, has received accolades for his work in three different design categories! Well done, Ken.

Contributing editor Larry Pynn of Vancouver delivered the award-winning article on the plight of British Columbia’s diminishing spotted owls, illustrated with amazing owl photographs taken by biologist/photographer Jared Hobbs. And longtime contributor Daniel Wood of Vancouver wrote an irresistibly delightful profile of the Elvis tribute artists who gather each summer in Penticton for a rock-’n’-roll celebration, with superb photography provided by Ron Watts of Saltspring Island.

Congratulations to all of our winners, who help us to make the best possible magazines for YOU, our valued readers.