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BC Chamber recognizes work of Pemberton's Shirley Henry

Pemberton's Shirley Henry added another honour to her collection this weekend. The former mayor of Pemberton was given the BC Chamber Fellow Award.
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PEMBERTON PROMINENCE Long-time Pemberton Chamber of Commerce supporter Shirley Henry was honoured for her many years of contribution to business organizations across the province by Maureen Kirkbride of the BC Chamber of Commerce.

Pemberton's Shirley Henry added another honour to her collection this weekend. The former mayor of Pemberton was given the BC Chamber Fellow Award.

The prestigious award from the BC Chamber of Commerce was given to Henry for her outstanding contributions to the chamber network in B.C.

The provincial organization had its annual general meeting in Nanaimo on Saturday, May 25. The organization's immediate past chair, Maureen Kirkbride, presented Henry with the award.

"Shirley Henry is one of those rare, natural leaders that people immediately respond to, work together with, and get inspired by," Kirkbride said as she presented the award. "She is someone who never sits back and lets things happen; she gets involved and makes things happen."

Henry is currently a member of the Pemberton Chamber of Commerce executive and she plays a key role in the day-to-day operations of the organization. She does that work on a volunteer basis. Reached at her office in Pemberton Henry said she puts in full-time hours by organizing events, taking meeting minutes and doing other tasks for the chamber of commerce in Pemberton.

"If I didn't do that what am I going to do?" she asked when questioned about how she spends her days. "I'm retired. I do slack off sometimes but every day I'm doing something (for the chamber)."

Henry said she had a good meal in Nanaimo and was chauffeured around the Vancouver Island community after she was told she had to attend the annual conference of chamber organizations from around B.C. She said she thought the Pemberton chamber was going to be honoured in some way so she was shocked when the award was given to her.

The chamber of commerce previously honoured her with a community service award and Henry was awarded with Canadian Service Medals in 1992 and then again in 2002. The national medals are given to Canadians who make outstanding and exemplary contributions to their communities.

The former mayor was first elected to Pemberton council as an alderman in 1975. She went on to serve as mayor from 1979 To 1993.