GIVING THANKS
Coquitlam dog walker Annette Poitras left Royal Columbian Hospital on Tuesday and dropped by the Coquitlam Search and Rescue training that night to personally thank the team — including the four who found her.
TWO AWARDS
Graham Cunliffe, director of business affairs and operations at Finger Food, was at the BC Export Awards last Friday to accept two awards on behalf of the Port Coquitlam company.
SPACE MAN
Pitt River middle student Ethan Fukuharas, 12, was congratulated by astronaut Chris Hadfield for receiving the HSBC Future Leaders award for a fundraiser he developed to build awareness about pollution and littering.
NATIONAL NOD
Sophie Bergeron, SD43’s language, culture and identity co-ordinator, received the annual André Obadia Award for excellence in immersion teaching at this year’s ACPI conference, held in Charlottetown, PEI.
NEW BOARD
Coquitlam auxiliary firefighter Matt Burton is now on the board for the Children of the Street Society, joining school trustee Carol Cahoon and Zachariah Guy at the table. The trio was elected last Friday.
BEST VOLUNTEER
Maddie Mesner, a student at Port Moody’s Heritage Woods secondary, won a Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers from Governor-General Julie Payette. The national prize recognizes Mesner’s outstanding contributions to her volunteer work.
WOMEN HONOURED
Special education teacher Christine Hilliard, of Port Coquitlam’s Riverside secondary school, was among a select group of Tri-City and Ridge-Meadows women to win an inaugural Women Influencer Award this month. Hilliard took the Exceptional Educator award from the Women’s Collaborative Hub, a group that aims to empower youth and women from diverse backgrounds. The accolades, which were sponsored in part by The Tri-City News, were also presented to Cheryl Ashli, Mehran Aazamifard, Coquitlam Coun. Teri Towner, Heather Hooton, Paula Jean Broderick, Annika Polegato, Heather Treleaven and Leanne Koehn.
HOLA AND DANKE
More than 250 people were at Coquitlam’s Glen elementary on Nov. 17 for a multicultural dinner hosted by the Parents Advisory Council. The special event — designed to celebrate the school’s diversity and build connections — included food from 40 countries, Aboriginal drumming, a Chinese fan dance and Bollywood dancing.
WAR TALES
Students from Anmore and Pleasantside elementaries and Eagle Mountain middle tomorrow (Friday) will wrap up their exhibit, Tell Us the Stories, at Port Moody Station Museum. Their display, which coincided with the museum’s Meet the Moodys show, featured photos, artifacts and stories of ancestors.
jcleugh@tricitynews.com