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Citizen of the Year mystery solved

CFOW seeking nominations for 40th anniversary celebration

Florence Petersen, Garry Watson, Al and Nancy Raine, Drew Meredith - a who's who of Whistler have been recognized as Citizens of the Year.

The honour has been awarded annually since 1969, when the Alta Lake Ratepayers Association first recognized an outstanding community member who contributes significant volunteer time to enhancing the quality of life in Whistler.

The ratepayers association eventually became the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, which carried on the tradition of honouring Whistler's Citizen of the Year until 2007, when the Community Foundation of Whistler accepted responsibility for hosting the event.

This year should be the 41 st time that Whistler honours a Citizen of the Year, but that apparently isn't the case.

When reviewing the list of past recipients for addition to a new trophy, CFOW Executive Director Kerry Chalmers noticed that 1993 was blank. Research by the Whistler Museum and Archives, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, a search of library and newspaper archives and a check with Florence Petersen didn't produce any answers. It was concluded that the award was not presented in 1993.

And that makes this year's Citizen of the Year celebration the 40 th anniversary of the event. The party will be held in the fall and details will be released soon.

Meanwhile, nominations are now being accepted by the CFOW. Nominees can be community members of any age who make volunteer contributions within Whistler in one or more activities or organizations.

For more information and to obtain a nomination form, visit www.whistlerfoundation.com or e-mail info@whistlerfoundation.com

Founded in 1999, the Community Foundation of Whistler is a charitable organization serving the Whistler region. To date the CFOW has $3.2 million in endowments and directs investment earnings to projects that help improve the quality of community life in Whistler and the region.