VICTORIA - Thirteen British Columbians who have contributed to the province in extraordinary ways will be appointed to the Order of British Columbia, Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon, Chancellor of the Order, announced today.

“The Order of British Columbia is the province’s most prestigious accolade and is an official part of the Canadian Honours System,” said Guichon. “It is an opportunity to publicly recognize those who have dedicated themselves to bettering the lives of their fellow citizens. These recipients exemplify the positive difference one person can make in a community and are an inspiration to all British Columbians.”

“The Order of British Columbia recognizes remarkable accomplishments by extraordinary British Columbians,” said Premier Christy Clark. “This year’s recipients have each made a difference in their communities and to the province. On behalf of all British Columbians, I want to thank them for their dedication - and all they do to make B.C. better.”

This year’s recipients are:

Peter S. Anderson, M.A. of Burnaby - emergency communications and disaster warning expert
Dr. Finley Armanious of Vernon - intensive care physician and hospital fundraiser
Larry Berg of Richmond - Vancouver International Airport leader and visionary
Sergio Cocchia of West Vancouver - entrepreneur and philanthropist supporting children’s charities
Donna Crocker of Langley - fundraiser and advocate for homeless people
Gregory Fahlman, Ph.D. of Victoria - world renowned astronomy researcher
Dr. Paula Gordon of Vancouver - innovative breast cancer screening researcher
Wendy Grant-John of Vancouver - First Nations economic and community leader
Arthur S. Hara, O.C., LL.C., O.R.S. of Vancouver - Asia-Pacific businessman and economic leader
Robert Ho of West Vancouver - philanthropist supporting health care and universities
George W. Hungerford, O.C., Q.C. of Vancouver - philanthropist in sport, health care and education
Charles J. Jago, Ph.D. of Prince George - leader in education, economic development and the arts
Dr. Charles H. Scudamore of Vancouver - cancer researcher, transplant surgeon and teacher

Recipients of the Order of British Columbia have been selected by an independent advisory committee from public nominations. The 2013 advisory committee consists of:

The Honourable Lance S.G. Finch (chair), former chief justice of British Columbia
Bill Barisoff, former speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Dr. Kris Bulcroft, president, Capilano University
Pierrette Maranda, associate deputy minister, Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat
Her Worship Mary Sjorstrom, president, Union of British Columbia Municipalities
Hassan Khosrowshahi, O.B.C. (2012 recipient of the Order)
Norman Keevil, O.B.C. (2012 recipient of the Order).

The Order of British Columbia investiture ceremony will be held for recipients and invited guests at Government House in Victoria sometime this fall. Since the order was first introduced in 1989, 345 people have become members.

Learn More:

The Order of B.C. is online at: www.orderofbc.gov.bc.ca

A backgrounder follows.

Contact:

Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat Communications
250 356-5963

BACKGROUNDER

2013 Order of B.C. recipients

Peter S. Anderson, M.A.
Professor Peter Anderson is an emergency communications expert whose work has improved emergency planning and response worldwide. He advises emergency responders on protecting populations from fires, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and other disasters.

As Associate Professor and Director of the Telematics Research Lab at Simon Fraser University, B.C.’s Provincial Emergency Program relies upon him for unique solutions. During the Okanagan fires of 2003, he supervised the protection of mountaintop telecommunications repeaters.

He developed a tsunami-warning toolkit for coastal communities and is researching a public all-hazards warning system. He developed ‘AMECom’, a self-contained, mobile, telecommunications research laboratory for communications support during an emergency. It was deployed on many occasions, including during the Fraser Valley’s Avian Influenza outbreak and at Whistler during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Professor Anderson played a pivotal role in developing a system to bring medical information to the South Pacific, a communications system in war-torn Sudan, computer Internet systems for U.N. disaster relief operations and an emergency warning system for Sri Lanka. He designed and implemented an internet-based system to facilitate civil emergency planning among the 22 countries of NATO’s Partnership for Peace programme. He’s currently working on a new rapid-deployable communications system for use across Northern Canada.

He works with community organizations in B.C. on disaster risk reduction activities including improving the effectiveness of West Coast tsunami warning in the aftermath of the October 2012 Haida Gwaii Earthquake.

Professor Anderson’s contribution to the application of telematics in spaceflight has resulted in communication solutions and innovative technology for planetary and lunar explorations. His expertise is sought around the world, yet he generously helps search and rescue and other community organizations throughout B.C.

Dr. Finley Armanious
Dr. Finley Armanious is a dedicated health professional, a strong patient advocate and a true Renaissance man.

Over more than 30 years of intensive care service at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, Dr. Armanious touched the lives of thousands of Okanagan patients and their families. While he has not received widespread acclaim for his accomplishments, his care and compassion will long be remembered by his many patients, their loved ones and their communities.

Even after his retirement and at the age of 86, Dr. Armanious continues to be consulted on many intensive care cases by other physicians. It was his vision that led to the new intensive care unit and the intensive and cardiac care floor of the Polson Tower at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, where lives are saved and families are reunited during their most challenging times.

Dr. Armanious’ personal service goes well beyond his profession. In retirement, he continues to find new and different ways to support his community, working with the local hospital foundation, and various fundraising initiatives.

Following his own tragedy - the loss of his son in a 1992 car crash - Dr. Armanious’ passion and determination led to the establishment of the Dr. Peter Armanious Walk and Run, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cardiac care at Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

The general medical staff of Vernon Jubilee Hospital - including 250 physicians, nurses and midwives - pledged $250,000 for the naming of the Intensive and Cardiac Care floor in honour of Dr. Armanious, acknowledging his leadership and excellence.

Larry Berg
Larry Berg has played a major role in the remarkable transformation of Vancouver International Airport, from an airport Charles Lindbergh refused to visit back in 1927, saying the city had “no fit field to land on”, to today’s position as one of the world’s top-rated airports.

In 20 years at YVR, the last 15 as President and CEO, Mr. Berg has been a strong leader, responsible for developing a culture and management team that ensure the airport will continue to flourish in the future.

He joined the airport as it became one of Canada’s first community-based airport authorities, a change that enabled the airport and leaders like Mr. Berg to introduce innovations and improvements that have included new runways, terminal upgrades, the Canada Line and an economic impact that has grown to nearly $2 billion a year.

In 2012, YVR was named Best Airport in North America for the third year in a row and ranked in the top 10 in the world.

In addition to his superlative efforts on behalf of YVR, Mr. Berg has consistently given back to his industry and his community. At the airport, he helped create and nurture the growth of the YVR Art Foundation, fostering the development of B.C. First Nations art and artists. Beyond YVR, he has led business and industry associations such as the Business Council of BC, the Canadian Airports Council and Airports Council International. In the community, he has served on the boards of the Vancouver Symphony and the VGH-UBC Hospital Foundation.

Sergio Cocchia
Sergio Cocchia, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, is fueled by the desire to make his country a better place to live, work and visit. He’s fired up on results, for the community through numerous philanthropic projects, and for his team of more than 500 employees at Absolute Spa Group and the Century Plaza Hotel and Spa.

Mr. Cocchia has raised millions of dollars for charitable organizations throughout British Columbia. In 1987 he founded, along with his wife and the chair of the event, the annual Women’s Media Golf Classic that has raised more than $3 million in the past 25 years to help children with special needs. Mr. Cocchia and his wife Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia created the Pacific Autism Family Society, which is building a $27-million centre to provide knowledge, connections and services to families province wide. Completed projects supported include the Down Syndrome Research Centre and the Oral Centre for Hearing Impaired Children, and The Children’s Foundation.

Mr. Cocchia also serves as president of the board of the Mediated Learning Academy and the Variety Learning Centre, a provincial in nature, independent school that serves special children with more than 30 different diagnoses and learning problems.

In 2010 Mr. Cocchia received an honorary doctor of laws from the Justice Institute of BC. He has also received a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Governor General’s BC Community Achievement Award and the CH.I.L.D. Foundation’s Humanitarian Award.

Donna Crocker
Fifteen years ago, Donna Crocker was invited by her sister-in-law, a caterer, to help distribute leftover food from an event to the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Little did she know that this would become her passion and she would become a major contributor to what little warmth and comfort Vancouver’s street residents have in their lives.

Ms. Crocker started a street ministry - Friendship Providers in Action - and every Sunday leads a team of 130 volunteers serving food to more than 700 people, most of whom are homeless. They set up tables at three locations and serve more than 2,500 sandwiches, homemade soup, dessert and drinks; all prepared the previous Friday night.

Ms. Crocker works tirelessly to collect donations. She organizes lawyers to buy blankets each year for her street ministry to distribute. She collects new clothing from a contact in the industry and distributes it through shelters across the Lower Mainland. She brings high school students from five different schools into the Downtown Eastside to help educate them in social responsibility. She opened street churches in Vancouver and Surrey; getting people off the street to feed, clean and give them clean clothing. She became a hospital chaplain so she could spend time with street residents who are sick or dying. She sits on the board of the Salvation Army. And on it goes.

The people on the streets know how much Ms. Crocker loves and cares for them. Her actions bear this out, every day of the year.

Gregory Fahlman, Ph.D.
Few of us accomplish enough to have a minor planet named after us; Dr. Gregory Fahlman is one of those few. One of the most important figures in world astronomy, Dr. Fahlman has fostered excellence in all he has done, including leadership of the National Research Council Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC-HIA), Canada’s national laboratory for astronomy, now known as NRC-Herzberg, Astronomy and Astrophysics Programs.

Dr. Fahlman has made significant achievements in scientific research, producing more than 140 refereed papers that have been cited more than 5,000 times by researchers worldwide. He has devoted nearly a decade to leading NRC-HIA, with responsibility for six observatories, including two in British Columbia. During his time as Director General, the NRC-HIA has amassed an impressive array of accomplishments in astronomy.

A leader in collaboration, Dr. Fahlman has played a major role in Canada’s participation in international projects such as the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope, the Gemini Observatory, the Atacama Large Millimetre Array and others. Strongly representing the interests of Canadian researchers, Dr. Fahlman has played a major part in making Canada a world leader in astrophysical research.

Dr. Fahlman has worked cooperatively with other countries and with leading companies such as B.C. high technology firms Profile Composites Inc., Dynamic Structures Limited and Altair Engineering Canada, among others. Contracts directly related to observatories in which the Canadian government has an interest have brought our province more than $56 million over the past two decades.

Throughout his long career, almost all of it in British Columbia, Dr. Fahlman has distinguished himself as a scientist and a visionary scientific leader.

Dr. Paula Gordon
Dr. Paula Gordon is one of Canada’s leading experts in breast cancer detection and diagnosis and a world expert in the field.

As a leading evidence-based advocate for breast cancer screening and early detection, her work has helped to lead to a marked decline in breast cancer deaths. As one of the early explorers of the use of breast ultrasound, she was a pioneer in the use of ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsies to determine whether a lesion was malignant or benign. Her technique reduced the need for surgery by using a small needle and local anesthesia.

Dr. Gordon’s research and clinical service in B.C. started almost 30 years ago when she moved here at the completion of her radiology training. She has been a tireless teacher, respected researcher and a great clinician. She was instrumental in supporting the development of the mammography screening program in British Columbia. She has been key to the establishment of a Breast Health Fellowship at BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre. Practicing radiologists from around the province come to enhance their skills by working directly with Dr. Gordon and other experts.

She has worked with the BC Women’s Foundation and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to raise funds for the Sadie Diamond Breast Imaging Centre. Outside her professional arena, she has served several years as a director of the Canucks for Kids Fund. Her many awards include a Killam Teaching Award from UBC in 2011 and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Dr. Gordon pioneers the newest applications of technology and her diagnostic expertise brings a new advantage to breast cancer diagnosis in British Columbia.

Wendy Grant-John
Wendy Grant-John is an inspired leader who has helped bring transformative change to indigenous communities across the country while simultaneously helping build stronger relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

Ms. Grant-John has tirelessly contributed through cutting edge leadership, economic development, legal, social and cultural means for more than 30 years. When she served as chief of the Musqueam First Nation, she launched the first Aboriginal commercial fishery in Canada and helped the Musqueam achieve two landmark Supreme Court cases that solidified Aboriginal Rights in the Constitution.

She was the first woman elected regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations and served as commissioner of the Pacific Salmon Commission. Ms. Grant-John is a founding member and director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

She was associate regional director general of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada for B.C. and served as the Minister’s representative on the issue of matrimonial real property on reserves. She has worked on the Big Sisters mentoring program for First Nations women.

Ms. Grant-John is a sitting member of the Chief and Council for the Musqueam Indian Band. She is chair of the Minister’s Advisory Council on Aboriginal Women, which provides advice to the B.C. government on improving the lives of Aboriginal women. She is working toward a coordinated, collaborative and culturally respectful approach to addressing the risks and vulnerabilities that contribute to making Aboriginal women and girls more exposed to and impacted by violence in their lives.

Her many awards include an honorary doctor of laws from Royal Roads University in 2003 and an honorary doctor of laws from Simon Fraser University in 2011.

Arthur S. Hara, O.C., LL.D., O.R.S.
Arthur Hara has led a distinguished career in business, devoting himself to building trade and fostering better understanding between British Columbia and the nations in the Asia Pacific.

Born in Vancouver in 1927, for 37 years he worked for Mitsubishi Canada, being named the first Canadian Chairman of the Corporation in 1983. Under his leadership, Mitsubishi developed B.C.’s natural resources including coalfields in southeastern B.C., which then led to building of the deep-sea coal port at Roberts Bank. In 1999 he was named one of the 50 “British Columbia’s Business Leaders of the Century”.

After retiring in 1999, Mr. Hara continued to be very active in the business community. He served as Chairman of the Asia Pacific Foundation, Chairman of the University of BC’s Board of Governors, Chairman of the Vancouver Board of Trade, Director of the Canada-Japan Society of BC and Division Chairman of the 1998 United Way Campaign. He has provided leadership in areas that have created a more prosperous and more culturally aware society.

From 2005 to 2008 he assumed the voluntary Chair of the Asia Pacific Trade Council with the mandate of enhancing B.C.’s presence in the Asia Pacific countries of Japan, South Korea, China and India.

Mr. Hara has received international recognition and awards including Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada Confederation Medal, Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, Order of the Rising Sun (Japan), Distinguished Leadership Award from Simon Fraser University and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of British Columbia.

Robert Ho
Robert Ho is a philanthropist who has donated millions of dollars to health-care institutions and universities.

In 2009, his gift of $15 million to the Robert H.N. Ho Research Centre at Vancouver General Hospital enabled the establishment of a state-of-the-art home to three internationally renowned research programs - the Vancouver Prostate Centre, the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility and the Ovarian Cancer Research Institute. The new centre facilitates cross-pollination of ideas between the disciplines and greater discoveries and developments to further propel B.C.’s reputation in the global scientific community.

Two years later, Mr. Ho’s $10 million gift to Lion’s Gate Hospital supported the Greta and Robert H.N. Ho Centre for Psychiatry and Education. This donation helped raise public consciousness about an issue that has long been underfunded and under the radar. His public support expressed a positive and powerful message about mental health, which is unfortunately surrounded by stigma.

Mr. Ho’s transformational gifts to health care in British Columbia, totalling $25 million, leave a tremendous philanthropic legacy. He has also made an investment into the scientific knowledge and medical expertise of our province.

Beyond health and medicine, he is also an advocate of Buddhist philosophy and its role and relevance in a contemporary setting. His $4 million donation to UBC in 2005 established North America’s first centre of Buddhist studies. This, and another $4 million donation to University of Toronto, was part of several donations to universities in Canada and the United States to promote academic dialogue and understanding of Buddhism. He has received many awards including an honorary doctor of laws from UBC.

George W. Hungerford, O.C., Q.C.
George Hungerford’s community leadership in sport, health, education and benevolence has few parallels in British Columbia.

Mr. Hungerford’s dedication to any one of the major initiatives he has undertaken would be considered a huge contribution; that he has taken on several is truly remarkable. He is an Olympic gold medalist and has been involved with sport since then, including with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In the years following Expo 86, Mr. Hungerford played a key role in the Science World fundraising campaign, helping raise $19 million for this important educational initiative.

When cancer touched Mr. Hungerford’s family, he became actively involved in fundraising for the BC Cancer Foundation, serving as co-chair of the Major Gifts Campaign. He helped raise a remarkable $120 million during the Foundation’s Millennium Campaign, which allowed the establishment of the new BC Cancer Research Centre and the Genome Sciences Centre at the BC Cancer Agency.

Mr. Hungerford brought the same level of commitment to his work on behalf of Pacific salmon conservation. For 20 years he served as the founding Chair of the Pacific Salmon Foundation, which has funded more than $25 million in projects. He continues as a founding board member.

For more than 30 years Mr. Hungerford has provided outstanding, strategic and thoughtful community leadership to the Salvation Army, helping raise more than $16 million for the work of the organization. Mr. Hungerford has a long association with both the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University and has been recognized by both universities for his continuing support.

As if this wasn’t enough, Mr. Hungerford has also helped raise funds for a world-class rowing facility in Richmond.

Charles J. Jago, Ph.D.
Charles Jago has contributed greatly to British Columbia in education, health care, economic development, the arts, community service and as an articulate and respected advocate for Northern British Columbia.

As President of the University of Northern British Columbia, Dr. Jago oversaw significant growth of the university, initiated partnerships with First Nations and initiated the Northern Sports Centre. He has actively promoted economic development in Northern B.C. as well as the arts and volunteered in many areas, such as the Fraser Basin Council, which he has chaired since 2006.

Dr. Jago’s most significant contributions have been the creation of the Northern Medical Program, developed in response to a critical shortage of physicians in Northern B.C., and the BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North in Prince George.

Dr. Jago has served on the boards of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada and the Association of Commonwealth Universities and is past-chair of the Council of Western University Presidents and the University Presidents’ Council of BC. He has served on the boards of Theatre Northwest, Two Rivers Art Gallery, Initiatives Prince George, Canada West Foundation and Partnerships B.C. He played an active role in the Nechako Environmental Enhancement Fund and the annual Northern BC United Way Campaign. He currently chairs the board of the Northern Health Authority.

Dr. Jago received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to education over a quarter century in 2005.

Dr. Charles H. Scudamore
Charles Scudamore is one of British Columbia’s foremost physicians, whose outstanding work is extending the lives of British Columbians diagnosed with serious cancers while working toward the day when there is a cure.

A leading surgical expert in liver transplantation, hepatobiliary oncology and trauma, Dr. Scudamore is staff surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital and B.C. Children’s Hospital, surgical director of the B.C. Liver Transplant Program, and developed Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery at the University of British Columbia. In addition, Dr. Scudamore is the incoming president of the North Pacific Surgical Association. He is also a tremendous researcher, teacher and caring physician.

Dr. Scudamore is an expert on the early recognition of pancreatic cancer as well as advanced colorectal metastases to the liver. He has led efforts to increase the number of liver transplants performed in British Columbia. In 2012, there were 65 transplants, up from the then-record 2011 total of 56. Each of these transplants marks a new beginning of a patient’s life.

Dr. Scudamore’s research - including the creation and support of the British Columbia Pancreatic Research Network - and other efforts to improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer offers hope to the approximately 380 new cases diagnosed each year in British Columbia.

Working above and beyond the call of duty, Dr. Scudamore is helping patients live longer and more productive lives. In recognition of his outstanding contributions and service to fellow citizens, he was a recent recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Contact:

Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat Communications
250 356-5963