Port Coquitlam’s efforts to help local businesses recover from a major disaster have earned the city provincial recognition.

At the Union of BC Municipalities’ annual Community Excellence Awards ceremony in Vancouver this morning, the City of Port Coquitlam received first place in the Best Practices in Organizational Development and Improvements category.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized provincially for the work we’re doing to help our local businesses. They are the cornerstone of our economy and will be critical to Port Coquitlam’s recovery from a major disaster,” said Mayor Greg Moore. “Our city is always striving to do things better, and it’s an honour to be recognized by our peers for our efforts.”

The award category recognizes the staff-led initiatives that go above and beyond to improve practices and results while meeting or exceeding deliverables and that serve an example for all types of organizations to follow.

The city worked with local businesses to complete a disaster recovery plan for the community and develop a business resource directory that lists private-sector services that would be available in a major emergency.

Recognizing the community’s recovery after a disaster relies on having businesses up and running as soon as possible, the City also offered disaster recovery workshops and created a toolkit for local businesses that can be downloaded at www.portcoquitlam.ca/bizep.

“Kudos to our staff and our community volunteers for going above and beyond and working collaboratively with our business partners,” said Councillor Glenn Pollock, Chair of the City’s Community Safety Committee. “This program offers valuable information and resources to local businesses and I encourage them to sign up for our upcoming workshop.”

The City is hosting a workshop session at 3:00 pm on November 15 at the PoCo Inn and Suites in which businesses will learn to build their own recovery plan featuring Walmart Canada as a case study. Businesses interested in attending can contact stroupt@portcoquitlam.ca.

To view the winning award application form and for more information and resources, visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/ep or call 604.927.5460.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Tara Stroup
Emergency Preparedness Officer
City of Port Coquitlam
T: 604.927.5460
E: stroupt@portcoquitlam.ca