It was an emotional night during the 50th Kelowna Civic and Community Awards celebration

Kelowna honours its finest

Photo: Joel Perrella - Angry Whale Media

Kelowna 2024 Citizen of the Year, Clayton Gall

There were plenty of tears and plenty of cheers to go around as the City of Kelowna honoured its best and brightest during the 50th Civic and Community Awards gala before a sold-out crowd at the Delta Grand Hotel ballroom.

Along with honouring those accomplishments from 2024, several previous recipients were recognized throughout the evening.

A total of 14 awards were handed out celebrating outstanding achievements made by Kelowna’s volunteers, artists, coaches, athletes, businesses, and non-profit organizations.

The evening was punctuated when Pam Turgeon and Shadia Doty, organizers and creators of “Parade with a Purpose” were bestowed with the Anita Tozer Award, a special recognition presented through a unanimous vote of city council.

Turgeon was emotional accepting the adulation from council and those in attendance.

“I lost my son in 2016, (drug overdose) so it’s been a long road of healing, but the road of healing is always with a purpose,” said Turgeon.

“When we decided to do this parade we decided maybe we could bring a little joy to the community but always in the back of my mind I knew my son was always on my back helping me through this, so going forward into our sixth year, the Parade with a Purpose is helping so many young people and now moving on with the KGH Foundation its going to even broaden the help for youth and acute care.”

In five years, the parade, which moved to downtown Kelowna after starting as a community event in Kettle Valley, has raised more than $700,000 for The Bridge Youth Recovery House in Glenmore. The parade raised $488,000 in 2024 alone.

Kelowna’s Citizen of the Year also needed to compose himself after being named recipient of the Fred Macklin and Sarah Donalda Tredgold Memorial Award.

Clayton Gall, chair of the BC Cancer Foundation’s Interior Transformation Council, lost his wife to cancer a year ago.

“My wife Shannon was a finalist for this award in 2020. Together her and I did a tremendous amount for the community and unfortunately she passed away last year,” said Gall.

“I’m just trying to carry on everything we started together. This award isn’t just mine, it’s hers too.

“She deserves it just as much as I do and that’s the emotional side of it.”

Gall says most of his volunteer work has been around BC Cancer, educating and bringing awareness to other community leaders about the impact cancer will have on them, their businesses and the community they live in.

“The reality is cancer patients have to go through treatment but the further away you are from a treatment centre the less likely you are to follow up on your treatment.”

Tyson Cook as Freida Whales, a finalist in 2023, got one of the loudest ovations after they were named recipient of the Honour in the Arts award.

Other recipients include:

• Bob Giordano Memorial Award – Coach/Sport Administrator of the Year - Bill Franzman
• Bryan Couling Memorial Award – Athletic Team of the Year - OKM Sr. Girls Volleyball Team
• Female Athlete of the Year Award - Kylie Taylor
• Male Athlete of the Year Award - Jerome Blake
• Augie Ciancone Memorial Award – Young Female Athlete - Maya Andruchow
• Augie Ciancone Memorial Award – Young Male Athlete- Dominic Sodaro
• Teen Honour in the Arts Award - Almendra Osorio
• Central Okanagan Foundation’s Volunteer Organization of the Year Award - Special Olympics Kelowna
• Corporate Community of the Year Award - Valley First, a Division of First West Credit Union
• Champion for the Environment Award - Beverley Kalmakoff
• Young Citizen of the Year Award - Ainsley Wood

The Young Citizen of the Year finalists will receive funding towards their post-secondary education through the Payton and Dillon Budd Memorial Fund Youth Scholarship.

The award recipient will receive $2,000, while each of the two remaining finalists will receive $1,000.

The recipient of the Teen Honour in the Arts award will receive a $500 entrance scholarship to the University of British Columbia Okanagan, courtesy of the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies.

In addition, the recipient for the Central Okanagan Foundation’s Volunteer Organization of the Year will receive a $3,000 donation from the Central Okanagan Foundation.

Nominations for the 51st annual Civic & Community Awards will open in the winter of 2025.

Photo: Joel Perrella - Angry Whale Media

Pam Turgeon (l) and Shadia Doty with Kelowna city council