More than 60 people from throughout the region attended the 2017 Rotary Club of Ashcroft and Cache Creek’s Citizens of the Year celebration at the Cache Creek Community Hall on May 27. This year’s honorees were Andrea and Bruce Walker of Ashcroft; Mavourneen Varcoe-Ryan from Spences Bridge; and Desert Sands Community School grade 12 student Maryn William, the youth recipient from the region.
It is the 12th year for the event, which was held as a barbecue in the evening rather than a luncheon on a weekday. “We decided this year to have more fanfare for the recipients and more time for people to socialize,” said the Rotary Club’s president-elect, Theresa Tackacs.
Following the delicious barbecue dinner, which was accompanied by guitar music from Nadine Davenport, club member Paché Denis thanked Dave Dubois for the meal, and thanked the Royal Bank in Cache Creek and Interior Savings Credit Union in Ashcroft for their sponsorship. He noted that the club looks for nominees from the public, and said that club members look at those nominated not just for their volunteer hours and activities, but for their leadership in their communities.
Denis, who — with his wife Patricia — nominated Andrea and Bruce Walker, noted the many organizations, clubs, and activities the two are or have been involved in, either together or separately, including Communities in Bloom, the Ashcroft and District Fall Fair, Historic Hat Creek, Thompson View Manor, and restoration of Ashcroft’s Chinese cemetery. “It would have been very easy to nominate either one of them separately,” he said, “but the sum of this couple’s contributions is easily greater than its parts.”
Ashcroft mayor Jack Jeyes presented the couple with a plaque and thanked them for all they do, saying the award was well-deserved. Andrea, speaking on behalf of herself and Bruce, thanked everyone for the honour. “We volunteer because we think it makes the community a better place,” she said. “We enjoy what we do and who we work with. Volunteers are at the heart of our communities. Without the work they do, where would we be?”
Carmen Ranta, who nominated Varcoe-Ryan, said that since being named Citizen of the Year in 2016 she had learned more about Rotary and what an amazing organization it is. She then noted that Varcoe-Ryan has done “so much, and in such a cool way. She has talent, passion, and ability: there’s a lot more, but those stood out.”
She then named three specific reasons for the nomination: Varcoe-Ryan’s volunteer efforts in Spences Bridge (“She’s a leader and a doer”); her work as a trustee for School District No. 74 over the past 15 years, particularly in the area of First Nations education; and her years of volunteer work in local theatre in Spences Bridge, Ashcroft, and Cache Creek. “There is also a family side to life, and Mavourneen is a passionate and caring mom, wife, and grandmother.”
TNRD Area “I” director Steve Rice presented a plaque to Varcoe-Ryan and said he had known, and been neighbours with, Varcoe-Ryan and her husband Jim for many years. He noted other activities Varcoe-Ryan undertakes, both inside and outside the community, and said that in addition to everything else, “Mavourneen is a great cook. If she invites you to a party, you go.”
Rice added that he also appreciated the fact that on trips to Kamloops Mavourneen often stops to visit his mother, who does not get many visitors and sees few people. “It sure makes me and my mom feel good.”
Varcoe-Ryan said thank you for the nomination and kind words. “This is really an honour, and I’m humbled. You do years and years of volunteering because that’s what you do, that’s what you want for your community.” She thanked her husband Jim for his support, noting that he had to do a lot of things around the house because she wasn’t there. “He never says ‘What are you doing and why aren’t you at home?’”
Deanna Horsting, who nominated Maryn William for the youth award, said William’s name leapt to mind immediately when she learned of the opportunity. “She volunteer coached junior volleyball when I needed help for two years, she coached soccer for youth in the community, she works really hard at her school work, and she is a role model for the younger students and her peers.
“She participates in a lot of sports, which I think is important. And in Ashcroft they have a teen night drop-in, and they had a little bit of funding; but when they didn’t have the funding she volunteered and ran it.”
MLA-elect Jackie Tegart presented William with her plaque. “I think when we look at the people who have been nominated tonight,” she said, “when we look at the diversity of their experiences, when we hear of their volunteer work, I think it’s not just the grunt work, it’s the planning, the leadership, the creative work; it’s getting out there and getting it done.
“We’d have no heart without our volunteers.”
Speaking of William, Tegart said “People talk about our youth, and concerns about them; but I am encouraged by our youth. The people who have been nominated tonight are such role models for our young people. Thank you for all that you do, and congratulations to everyone who was nominated this evening.”
