Eight leaders in Richmond received Rotary International’s prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award at a special awards evening on June 15th, hosted jointly by four Rotary clubs in the community.
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Paul Harris recipients (left to right): Jeff Jiang, Jim Kojima. Al Sakai, Maggie Ip, Clara Chow and Miles Timmis. (absent: Linda Reid and Chuck Keeling) |
For their “service above self”, the Paul Harris Fellow Award was presented to each of the following distinguished leaders in the community and beyond.
• Miles Timmis, owner of Disposal King, for his dependable leadership in the community, including donations to the Shoreline Cleanup at Garry Point, the Food Bank and the Rotary Foundation, as well as being a strong positive role model within the housing industry.
• Chuck Keeling, Executive Vice President for Stakeholder Relations and Responsible Gaming at the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, for his long history of giving to the Richmond Sunrise Club and local non-profit service groups.
• Alan Sakai, retired Richmond school principal, for his many community service activities including serving as President of the Steveston Community Society and Chair of the Steveston Salmon Festival.
• Jim Kojima, current treasurer of the Minoru Seniors Society, for his extensive history of service to his community, including service with the Steveston Judo Club for almost 70 years.
• Linda Reid, former long-time MLA and Speaker of the House, for her dedication to the creation of the Rotary Hospice House providing hospice and palliative care. She also supports Richmond Cares Richmond gives, Girl Guides of Canada and the Annual Woman’s Campaign School.
• Jeff Jiang, President of JPC Services for his generosity in helping immigrants, chairing events and donating his time to strata councils.
• Maggie Ip, a retired Richmond teacher, for her countless hours volunteering in senior services, and for being instrumental in the founding of S.U.C.C.E.S.S. which supports immigrants and provides social services.
• Clara Chow, current director of the Richmond Chinese Community Society, for her role in organizing and chairing numerous foundations including fundraising for the Richmond Hospital Foundation.
Richmond’s four Rotary Clubs: Richmond Sunrise, Steveston Rotary, Richmond Sunset and Richmond, collaborated to recognize the eight leaders for their extraordinary service above self and high professional and personal standards set forth by Paul Harris, who founded in 1905 Rotary International the world’s oldest service club.
The community leaders received their awards at a ceremony held at Quilchena Golf and Country Club, with over 100 guests with Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Rotary District 5040 Governor Lorne Calder, among others, officiating.
The event, organized by committee chairpersons Pat Atkinson and Debbie Murphy from Richmond Sunrise Club, also provided an opportunity for the four Richmond clubs to combine their talents and energies and to grow to know each other better.
Special guests also included incoming District Governor John Berry, District Governor Nominee Drew Antrobus and Judith Smith, Assistant District Governor Dean Hsieh, Christine Brodie and Karen Salazar.
Past District 5040 Governor Gordon Dalglish was the M.C. and delighted us with his welcoming wit and guests were treated to a continuous slideshow showing action photos from each of the clubs. DG Lorne Calder and Mayor Brodie both delivered inspirational presentations, reminding us of the importance of the work we do.
Our deepest thanks to the organizing committee and to the sponsors and congratulations to the eight Paul Harris Award recipients.
For more information about the Richmond Rotary Clubs, please visit their websites: