VICTORIA - Forty-five British Columbians representing 25 communities throughout the province were honoured today at the fourth annual BC Community Achievement Awards ceremony held at Government House in Victoria.

Lieutenant Governor Iona Campagnolo and Premier Gordon Campbell presented each recipient with a medallion designed by B.C. artist Robert Davidson on behalf of the BC Achievement Foundation.

"The success of our province is built on the strength of its communities, and that strength is rooted in the spirit, ideas and passion of the people we recognize each year with the BC Community Achievement Awards," said Campbell. "In their stories, we see the remarkable diversity of British Columbia and the potential of each and every individual to truly make an impact in their communities. It is an honour for me to recognize their achievements and celebrate their contributions to making B.C. the best place on Earth."

"This year's recipients demonstrate that British Columbians are making a difference in every area of our province," said foundation chair Keith Mitchell. "Whether they live in smaller communities such as Atlin, Klemtu and Mayne Island or the major centres like Victoria, Prince George and the Lower Mainland, they have found ways making each of their communities a better place to live."

The recipients are:
* Garry Anderson of Cranbrook
* Darian Arman of North Vancouver
* Pauline Arnouse of Victoria
* Chuck Bailey of Surrey
* Kuldeep Bains of Vancouver
* Edward (Ted) Barsby of Nanaimo
* Don Benson of New Westminster
* Wayne Carlick of Atlin
* Lois Carson Boyce of Richmond
* William (Bill) Christie of Prince George
* Isabelle Diamond of Vancouver
* Art Flaterud of Vanderhoof
* Margo Fryer of Vancouver
* Christopher Gaze of Vancouver
* Lois Godfrey of Burnaby
* Sandra Heydon of Chemainus
* Kerry Jang of Vancouver
* Martin and Esther Kafer of Vancouver
* Barbara Kaminsky of Vancouver
* Gilbert Lam of Vancouver
* Lily La Mer of Vancouver
* Alison Leamy of Victoria
* Ben Wah Lee of Kelowna
* Bill Lynch of Prince George
* Munro MacKenzie of Vancouver
* Gordon Mackie of Sicamous
* Edna Mason of Klemtu
* Sharon McCoubrey of Lake Country
* George McLean of Burnaby
* Jim McMynn of Midway
* Mike Murray of Maple Ridge
* John Nightingale of West Vancouver
* Doris Paul of North Vancouver
* Fr,d,rique Philip of Sooke
* Hitoshi Saito of Mayne Island
* Audrey Salahub of Pitt Meadows
* Baljit Sethi of Prince George
* Phyllis Simon of Vancouver
* Jim Taylor of Mission
* Steve Tuck of Kelowna
* Al Tysick of Victoria
* Ellen White of Nanaimo
* Liza Wolf of Fort Nelson
* Alexander Yule of North Vancouver

The recipients were selected by an independent advisory council including Brenda Binnie, president of the Union of BC Municipalities and councilor of Castlegar;
Jack Talstra, mayor of Terrace; May Brown, Member of the Order of British Columbia; and past Community Achievement Awards recipients Rob Reid of Victoria and Grace Wong of Vancouver.

The British Columbia Achievement Foundation is an independent foundation established by an initial endowment of $6 million from the Province to recognize and celebrate B.C.'s spirit of excellence. The Community Achievement Awards, launched in 2003, were the first initiative of the foundation, followed by the launch in 2004 of the Creative Achievement Awards recognizing outstanding work in the field of applied art and design, the BC Award for Canadian Non Fiction, recognizing literary excellence, the Creative Achievement Awards for Aboriginal Art recognizing Aboriginal artists affiliated with B.C. First Nations, and Time to Read, an award initiated for 2007 for early literacy.