The Citizen of the Year Celebration:
The Citizen of the Year event is Whistler's longest running celebration - a truly local celebration that has been running since 1969. This honour is awarded once a year to an outstanding community member that contributes significant volunteer time to enhancing the quality of life in Whistler.
The event is an opportunity for us to celebrate the contributions of our many volunteers. Volunteers are the backbone of our community.
This year six community members have been nominated for the award. Although there is only one winner each year, it is the collective contribution of all volunteers that make Whistler a wonderful community.
Leading up to this year's event on Nov. 6, Pique Newsmagazine is partnering with the Community Foundation of Whistler to acknowledge the contributions of two nominees per week.
Name: Bernard Messeguer
Time in Whistler: 16 years
Snapshot of Volunteer Contributions:
• Head coach for the level 6 ski racing group (6 years)
• Helped coach soccer for the boys and girls secondary school soccer teams in Whistler - included taking the girls team to provincials for the first time
• Started Whistler's first Rep team, under-18 girls Silver team. He was both the coach and manager (2007)
• Coached the Whistler silver rep team (2008)
• Coaches the Sea to Sky Women's Soccer League; includes coaching the tournament team (2006 to present)
• Coaches the U-15 Gold Rep soccer team in Squamish - included girls from Whistler (2009 to present)
• Coached the Whistler Secondary School girl's soccer team in (2010)
• Whistler Soccer Youth Club Board of Directors volunteer and scheduler of teams and games (2006-2010)
"I have never met a coach that is dedicated to so many teams at the same time. He is a great guy who really just loves helping out and teaching/coaching children and adults. I often wonder how he has any time for himself because it seems that most days of the week he is volunteering for one of his teams. Honouring Bernard is one of many ways our community can recognize how important it is to have people like him." - Katharine Creery, Nominator
Name: Tony Horn
Time in Whistler: 18 years
Snapshot of Volunteer Contributions:
• Dedicated WORCA Board Director for many years; served as Director of Trails, President, and currently Race Director.
• WORCA Toonie Night sponsor through Slope Side Supply
• Co-Creator and Organizer of the Samurai of Single-Track series of mountain bike races, seven consecutive years
• Created and organized the Four Jacks (2009) and the Four Queens (2010) mountain bike events
• Co-Chair of the annual Whistler Father-Daughter Dance, supporting the Whistler Children's Centre
• Whistler 2020 Solid Waste and Materials Task Force
• Whistler's Advisory Planning Commission
"Tony is a dedicated, motivated and creative volunteer who is also an inspirational role-model to healthy, active young people in Whistler. Tony's particular interest in serving his community is to work on projects and events that specifically benefit the residents of Whistler. While not limited to it, his contributions are best known for the many hundreds of hours he volunteers to mountain biking every year. He is passionate about Whistler and passionate about our mountain biking community. Whistler is a unique town and has a cool and hardworking community - Tony is a reflection of this." - Johnny Mikes, nominator
The Event:
This year's celebration will take place on Saturday, Nov. 6 in partnership with the Whistler Arts Council's "Our Whistler: Celebrating Our Stories" event at MY Place.
All past winners of the Citizen of the Year award, 2010 nominees and all members of the community are invited to enjoy an intimate evening of storytelling, tapas-style fare, live art and entertainment, and silent and live auctions. Cuisine prepared by executive chefs from the Fairmont Whistler, Nita Lake Lodge, the Mix, Players Chophouse, and Quattro.
Tickets are $100 each and could be purchased through the Whistler Arts Council. A $50 charitable tax receipt will be issued per purchased ticket.
