Volunteer Recognition Awards

Every year, we ask Port Coquitlam residents to share which local volunteers make a difference in the community by recognizing them with a nomination. Our Volunteer Recognition Awards event — an invitation-only night of fun, food and entertainment sponsored by FortisBC — is held during National Volunteer Week in April. The Port Coquitlam Volunteer Recognition Awards have honoured 130 recipients and hundreds more nominees since 1997. Volunteers are the roots of Port Coquitlam is this year’s theme for this year’s annual volunteer award program.

Award Categories

Port Coquitlam Volunteer of the Year: Antoni Kostka

Congratulations to the winner of our Port Coquitlam Volunteer of the Year Award, Antoni (Tony) Kostka!

Tony has brought music, dance, traditional food, art, and so much more to Port Coquitlam. He is always generous, professional and enthusiastic as he worked to provide opportunities for all ages to showcase their talents at the Polish Festival. This festival welcomed everyone, which brought a greater understanding of the cultural traditions of many people who immigrated from Poland to Port Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities area.

Thank you for many hours of volunteering to celebrate arts and culture in our community!

The Port Coquitlam Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes volunteers involved in any of the following areas:

Arts, Heritage, and Cultural Services

Preserves and celebrates Port Coquitlam’s past and shares our community heritage with others and/or promotes the arts and cultural development of our community.

Caring and Safety

Enhances and promotes the community through caring actions and outstanding acts of humanitarianism; contributes towards making Port Coquitlam a safer place for residents of all ages.

Youth Programs

Recognizes volunteers of all ages who support our community’s youth programs, excluding amateur athletics (see Sports and Recreation category).

Environmental Protection and Enhancement

Demonstrates an outstanding commitment to the promotion and preservation of Port Coquitlam’s natural environment for present and future generations.

Sports and Recreation

Enhances the quality of physical activity in Port Coquitlam; contributes to the management and/or operations of a sports or recreation activity; demonstrates outstanding dedication to Port Coquitlam’s sports and recreation community.

Future Leader, Youth Volunteer of the Year (U25 Youth Under Age 25): Chloe Goodison

Our Future Leader, Youth Volunteer of the Year Award winner is Chloe Goodison!

Chloe is a volunteer with the Tri-Cities Community Overdose Action Team and advocates for increased harm reduction services and decreased stigma around people who use drugs. A student at SFU, Chloe received a grant for a community engagement project and partnered with local organizations such as TCCAT, Share, Fraser Health, Access Youth Outreach and SD43 to design a highschool curriculum about BC’s overdose crisis.

Thank you for making a difference in so many ways! Congratulations, Chloe.

The Future Leader, Youth Volunteer of the Year (U25 Youth Under Age 25) Award is reserved for the recognition of a Port Coquitlam youth, under the age of 25, who has demonstrated a commitment to our community and has made extraordinary volunteer contributions in any of the categories above.

Lifetime Volunteer: Ann Pratt

Congratulations to Lifetime Volunteer Award winner, Ann Pratt!

Ann sits on the Executive Board of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #133 and is active with the Legion’s Poppy Committee. She also organizes cribbage night every Wednesday there. She has volunteered for many years with City events, such as the Rivers and Trails festival, received the Wilson Centre Volunteer of the Year award in 2017 and is an extremely family person and a very hardworking individual.

Over the years, Ann has given hundreds of hours to making Port Coquitlam a great place to live and play. Thank you, Ann!

The Lifetime Volunteer Award recognizes an individual who has dedicated many years to improving the community through their volunteer service in any area. Anyone nominated for a Port Coquitlam Volunteer of the Year Award may be considered for this award.

Lifetime Volunteer: Bryan Ness

Congratulations to Bryan Ness, recipient of our Lifetime Volunteer Award!

Bryan exemplifies the virtue of a good caring citizen who always goes over and above. He has made a measurable impact with his volunteer efforts and was a recipient in 2009 for the Arts, Heritage and Cultural Awareness Award. Bryan has been a volunteer for 16 years with the Port Coquitlam Heritage Society, a true PoCo historian who has captured photos of tons of City events through the years. He truly defines the meaning of the word “volunteer” and is certainly a passionate one.

Bryan, thank you for your many years of dedication to making a difference in Port Coquitlam.

2023 Nominees

Port Coquitlam Volunteer of the Year

Manuelito (Mannix) Abaya
Fernanda Amaro
Sarah Arsenault
Sherri-Lyn Citulec
Meena Dhillon
Sheri Fedeyko
Sandra Gagne
Jacqueline (Jacki) Goring
Joan Gould
Thomasina Hewer

Kathy-Rose Hildebrand
Helen Howes
Brittany Johnson
Bill Jones
Antoni (Tony) Kostka
Fran Laidlaw
Janis Mack
Shari Monsma
Tammy Moyer
Pooja Patel

Claire Pinkett
Ann Pratt
Bill Pratt
James Putnam
Denis Sleightholme
Denise Spletzer
Keith Walker
Mark Williams
Alanna Wong

Future Leader – Youth Volunteer of the Year Nominees

Nathan Amin
Megan Chan
Maria Chedraoui
Jimmy Chen
Narissa Gillani

Chloe Goodison
Rachel Jang
Aidan Kokotilo-Moen
Casey Kong
Alba Latorre

Eg Manilag
Kayla Stewart
Olivia Tuan
Jenny Zhang

Nomination Criteria

Nominees can be any age and do not have to be a Port Coquitlam resident.
Self-nominations are permitted.
Past Port Coquitlam Volunteer Recognition Award recipients are not eligible for nomination except for the Lifetime Volunteer category, but past nominees can be nominated for any category. (Click to view previous recipients.)
Nominations must be for an individual (couples or group nominations are not eligible). Each individual nomination must stand on its own merit.
Nominees must meet at least one of the following criteria:
Their unpaid volunteer contributions provide extraordinary help or care to families or groups in Port Coquitlam.
They continually commit their time, talent and energy, without pay, to improve the quality of life in Port Coquitlam.
They have been voluntarily involved in a program or project that has had a lasting benefit for Port Coquitlam and its residents.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

The City’s volunteer recognition efforts are made possible by FortisBC, the sponsor of Port Coquitlam’s Volunteer Recognition Awards for 24 consecutive years.