Whistler’s municipal council honoured several locals last week who have given their time and expertise to council committees and boards.
Whistler Construction Company president Jim Charters, Whistler Blackcomb’s Arthur De Jong, and Origin Design + Communications president Danielle Kristmanson received Civic Service Awards at Tuesday’s regular meeting of council.
Charters, who sits on the Illegal Spaces Task Force Committee and the Board of Variance and who was instrumental in helping the RMOW develop zoning bylaws, was recognized for his “astute decisions, passion for the community, and his consideration of how Council decisions affect the character of Whistler’s neighbourhoods.”
Whistler Blackcomb mountain planner and environmental resource manager De Jong serves on the Forest and Wildland Advisory Committee, and has also lent his experience to the Whistler Bear Advisory Committee, the Whistler Alliance for Cultural Tourism committee, the Whistler Fisheries Stewardship Group and the board of the Whistler Centre for Sustainability.
“Arthur is passionate about environmental stewardship and he works to find business solutions that reconcile the harm inflicted on the natural environment,” according to a municipal release.
Kristmanson was awarded for her work on the municipal Economic Partnership Initiative Committee, and her nomination described her as “a creative person, with a deep-seated affection for the long-term wellbeing of Whistler, who brings an informative perspective from her unique understanding of the tourism, outdoor sport and recreation industries.”
On Tuesday, council also recognized the late Gord McKeever, who passed away suddenly this summer at the age of 62. The chair of the Forest and Wildland Advisory Committee for five years until his death, McKeever also served two terms on council from 2002 to 2008 and owned a property management company. He was also a key player in developing the Sea to Sky Trail and Sea to Sky Marine Trail near Howe Sound. McKeever was remembered for “his firm, fair hand when tackling complex and commercial recreation, habitat and forestry questions on the committee."
This is the third year Whistler’s council has handed out Civic Service Awards, which recognize the contributions of volunteers who donate their time through 18 municipal committees and two boards.
