The Order of British Columbia: 1996 Recipients

Dr. Peter Banks of Victoria is respected by his colleagues not only for his medical acumen and devotion to the patients coming under his care, but also for his demonstrated sense of obligation to the relationship between the medical profession and the public.

Particularly noteworthy is the vital role Dr. Banks played in the formation of the British Columbia Medical Plan. In the mid sixties, he served as Chief Negotiator and Signatory of a landmark agreement between the medical profession and the government. This agreement, the first of its kind in North America, was to provide medical coverage to all British Columbians. After the formation of the Medical Services Commission, Dr. Banks went on to serve as one of its original commissioners.

Jack Harman has enriched the lives of us all for many decades, with sculpture which celebrates Canadians and Canadian institutions. He has created some of Vancouver's best known sculpture including Themis, the Greek Goddess of Justice at the Vancouver Law Courts, the Family Statue in front of the Pacific Press Building, Harry Jerome in Stanley Park, and Bannister and Landy's "Miracle Mile" at Empire Stadium.

Beyond B.C.'s boundaries, his work includes the Queen Elizabeth II equestrian statue on Parliament Hill and the Peace Keeping Monument at the entrance to the National Gallery also in Ottawa.

Vancouver born Jack Harman studied in Toronto and Europe. He returned to B.C. where he taught for 12 years at the Vancouver School of Art and the Emily Carr College of Art, and then established the first scupture foundry in B.C.

Henry Ketcham, President and Chief Executive Officer of West Fraser Timber, is a visionary B.C. forest industry leader who have up timber cutting rights to protect the world's largest intact coastal temperate rainforest - the Kitlope.

The 317,000-hectare watershed on British Columbia's central coast received permanent protection from logging and industrial development in 1994 in a trilateral agreement between the Haisla Nation, West Fraser Timber and the B.C. government. This agreement came on the heels of the West Fraser announcement that it would voluntarily relinquish all harvesting rights to the Kitlope valley.

The rugged terrain of the Kitlope - one half the size of Prince Edward Island - is home to a rich and abundant variety of wildlife, and trees of up to three metres in diameter and over 800 years of age. It is referred to as the "sacred site of the people of the rock" by the Haisla Nation, who consider the area their ancestral home.

Mr. Ketcham has been hailed for his leadership which allowed inclusion of the Kitlope in British Columbia's protected areas - leaving a legacy for the citizens of the Province and the world.

Peter Larkin, Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia, is a Rhodes Scholar, fisheries researcher, teacher, administrator and science policy advisor.

One of Canada's best known scholars, and the author of more than 160 papers, it is difficult to find an area of resource management, fisheries science and conservation in which his name does not occupy a prominent position.

Dr. Larkin has held numerous positions at U.B.C., including that of Head of the Zoology Department, and Dean of Graduate Studies; he has served on the Science Council of Canada and the National Task Force on the Environment and the Economy; and has played a major role in developing Canada's position on the International North Pacific Fisheries Commission as well as in fisheries research and development at the United Nations.

Though now retired, Dr. Larkin serves currently as overseer of the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium and as Chair of the Northern River Basins Study.

Rosalind MacPhee, a paramedic, author, poet, humanitarian and community leader, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1991 and died earlier this year, just a few days after finding out she had been selected to receive the Order of British Columbia.

Her journey through diagnosis, treatment and recovery is chronicled in her book, "Picasso's Women: A Breast Cancer Story". In this book Mrs. MacPhee shared her personal crisis and brought discussion of breast cancer into the public domain. It is a work of literature that describes the medical and emotional progress of a disease that afflicts many Canadian women.

In 1995. Rosalind MacPhee was awarded the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for non-fiction and was honoured by the people of Lions Bay, her home of 23 years, with the Citizen of Distinction Award.

Eleanor Malkin has been extraordinarily successful in raising funds for worthwhile causes. By giving generously of her time and energy, she has made a considerable difference to the cultural life of her home town: Vancouver.

Her charitable work started many years ago and continues to this day. She joined the Junior League in 1936 and was a founding member of the Vancouver Symphony Society ub 1947. During her term as symphony president, she initiated the first school concerts and orchestra tours through the province.

In 1964 she founded the Society for the Welfare of the Arts, Sciences and Health, better known as SIWASH. This annual gala charity auction used its first year's proceeds to set up the volunteer services at the Health Science Centre at U.B.C. and help the Vancouver Symphony Society. Later it was renamed the "Endeavor Society" and during 30 years it has raised nearly $7 million and distributed it to 76 beneficiaries.

Kamloops resident Basil Morissette has dedicated more than 40 years of service to improving the lifestyles and economic opportunities of Aboriginal people in British Columbia.

Known by many as "Buzz" Morissette, he was a founding member of the original Native Courtworker Program, the first and vital bridge over the gulf between the justice system and aboriginal people. Over the years he became a household name for many Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Vancouver's downtown east side where he counselled people in need.

He is a founding member of the friendship centre movement which, 40 years later, continues to offer programs and services in more than 100 communities nation-wide. Much of that work has been voluntary, as has his work in Native housing and daycare.

Buzz Morissette has shown his ability to work with virtually everyone to accomplish his goals, and has become a role model for many young people who consider him to be a mentor and trusted friend.

Victoria's Derek Porter is a natural athlete. He has participated in cross-country running, soccer, tennis, golf, skiing, squash - and rowing, the sport in which he has become most successful and best known.

While at the University of Victoria, earning his Batchelor of Science degree, he won a gold medal in the eights with cox and a silver in the fours with cox at the 1987 Western Canada Games. Threee years later he became a Gold Medallist at the Barcelona Olympics in the eights with cox.

After the Olympic Games, with many members of the eights crew retiring from competition, Mr. Porter decided to try the single sculls. In a new rowing event demanding a different set of skills and mindset, with a new coach and in his very first year of competition, he won the 1993 World Single Sculls Championship in Czechoslovakia, defeating the 1992 Olympic gold and silver medalists in the sport. He is the first Canadian to win the championship in 100 years.

Ruth Schiller has been a tireless advocate for the arts and artists in British Columbia.

Mrs. Schiller and her late husband broke the ground and developed on of the first apple orchards in the desert country of Osoyoos. Her sense of responsibility extended to her fellow orchardists, for she was instrumental in extending the irrigation system in the arid South Okanagan.

In addition to raising a family and managing a fruit stand business for 20 years, she became a leader in the cultural, educational and economic development of her community.

Focusing much of her attention on being an advocate for the artistic and cultural communities, she became a founding member of her local Oliver/Osoyoos Arts Council. Expanding her horizons, there followed membership in the British Columbia Arts Board, the Canadian Conference of the Arts, and the Canada Council.

Outside the arts, Ruth Schiller has been involved in a very long list of community organizations including the Osoyoos Desert Society, Okanagan University College and the Economic Development Corporation of Osoyoos.

Isabelle Stubbs is the Comox Valley's resident folk historian and an enthusiastic supporter of many community organizations.

Often described as the "voice, mind and hands of the community," she is an expert on local history and the people who settled and developed the Comox Valley. Her book "All About Us" is a history widely used as a reference when historical information is being sought. If anyone is looking for information on a person, where a certain building used to be located, or who lived there, Isabelle Stubbs is one of the first people contacted and is seldom without an answer. She offers her pearls of knowledge with a sparkling and ready wit that would be the envy of people half her age.

For 53 years, our recipient has written a local newspaper column called "Coffee Cup Chatter". This widely-read column incorporates historical information and amusing anecdotes as well as current information on local issues, people, places and activities. It is said that in all those years, Mrs. Stubbs never once missed the weekly deadline for submitting her column.

John J. Verigin, the leader of the Doukhobor people, has devoted his life to promoting peace and mutual understanding between peoples of different ethnic backgrounds. He helped safeguard the pacifist status of Doukhobors during World War II and has been active in the peace movement since the 1960s.

The Doukhobor beliefs of pacifism, vegetarianism and cooperative effort were once foreign, but are now part of the values of many people who live in the Kootenay region. From his home in Grand Forks, John J. Verigin has worked tirelessly to counteract fanatical activity and media sensationalism and has laboured to integrate the Doukhobor community within the wider Canadian Cultural Mosaic. For this he received the Order of Canada in 1977.

He has actively promoted better relations between Canada and the former U.S.S.R., resulting in many cultural exchanges, travel and educational opportunities for people of both countries. In 1989 he was awarded "The Order of the Peoples' Friendship" by Mikhail Gorbachev.

Mr. Verigin has coordinated a six week respite visit to the Kootenay area for children suffering the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and has worked with others to collect, transport and distribute critical supplies to needy communities in the former U.S.S.R.

Surrey resident George Zukerman is a performer and impressario, a person of extraordinary imagination and initiative who has distinguished himself as a solo bassoonist and as an artistic manager.

Before Mr. Zukerman achieved success in his solo career, the bassoon was seldom seen anywhere except in the back ranks of a symphony. He was the first soloist on the instrument ever invited to tour with symphony orchestras and in recital around the globe.

While one of the most widely travelled Canadian solo artists, George Zukerman has also devoted many years to the development of audiences in British Columbia's smaller communities. He has placed special emphasis on the needs of isolated and remote areas in organizing thousands of concerts, giving the residents opportunities to appreciate, enjoy and participate in the performing arts.

Well respected throughout the Canadian music scene, he has contributed, over the past four decades, to the career development of many young British Columbia artists. In 1993, Mr. Zukerman received the Order of Canada and the annual National Arts Centre award for "distinguished contribution to touring in Canada".