November 18, 2011
By Terry Hadley
Venue: Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown
The Vancouver Board of Trade announced four Spirit of Vancouver® award winners and recognized Vancouver’s Fire Fighter and Police Officer of the Year at a lunch event attended by all the finalists.
Scotiabank was the presenting sponsor at the awards event where individuals, companies and community organizations were nominated in four categories, all of which highlight efforts to make our city a better place to live, work and play. ICBC and the JIBC School of Public Safety and Security sponsored the Vancouver Police Department’s Police Officer of the Year and Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services’ Fire Fighter of the Year.
Individual Award: Presented in recognition of outstanding individual contributions to the spirit of Vancouver during the past year and to an individual who demonstrated the best characteristics of community commitment, creativity and volunteerism.
Winner: Yuri Fulmer, chairman and CEO, FDC Capital Partners was recognized for his leadership and volunteerism as a director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Vancouver to which he donated his business experience in recent merger discussions. He is also 2011/12 board chair of the United Way of the Lower Mainland and the youngest member of the Vancouver Foundation board and the Vancouver Opera board where he serves as vice-chair.
“Thank you all the volunteers in the room and all the work that you do to make Vancouver the best city in the world!” he said.
Finalists for the award were Djavad Mowafaghian, founder, The Djavad Mowafaghian Foundation and Jen Schaeffers, executive director, CKNW Orphans’ Fund.
Corporation Award: Presented to corporations in recognition of a generous corporate contribution that bolsters the community spirit of Vancouver and which demonstrates ongoing leadership and community service through the contribution of time, talent and resources.
Winner: Canada Safeway for its financial support and motivation of others to take leadership roles in philanthropy and community involvement. Recipient Mary D’Astolfo, public affairs manager, Canada Safeway described how the company raised $1.1 million for Easter Seals BC, $1.2 million for special needs, $1.1 million for Multiple Sclerosis, $1.3 million against prostate cancer, $1.8 million for the Breast Cancer Foundation, $10 million for food banks and other causes through donations from employee payroll and the Canada Safeway Foundation.
Finalists were Bell Alliance Lawyers and Notaries Public and The Jim Pattison Auto Group.
Community Organization Award: Presented in recognition of an outstanding single or ongoing community contribution that benefits the spirit of Vancouver. Public or not-for-profit community organizations receiving this award demonstrate their ongoing commitment through their investment of creativity, volunteerism and exciting new ideas that benefit the community.
Winner: United Way of the Lower Mainland raised $29 million last year and was also recognized for creating the United Way Public Policy Institute to bring together public policy experts, social services senior managers and health-related agencies so that they can better understand and influence the public policy process. The organization also established B.C.’s first 2-1-1 service with Information Services Vancouver.
“The most valuable things we do in life are what we do for each,” Michael McKnight, president, said on receiving the award.
Finalists were Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and Vantage Point.
Special Event Award: Presented in recognition of a unique or outstanding event that adds to the overall community spirit and celebration of Vancouver. The special event award is given to an event that demonstrates creativity, an ability to capture the imagination of the community and sponsors, and the potential for both short and long-term success.
Winner: GranFondo Canada’s 2011 RBC GranFondo Whistler recipients and co-founders Neil McKinnon and Kevin Thomson described how the event was created to continue the Olympic legacy of 2010. “Business can make a difference in communities and I think GranFondo Whistler and RBC are shining examples of that.”
Finalists were BC Lung and Pinnacle Pursuits The RUSH and Variety, The Children’s Charity’s Food Fight, The Battle For Brunch.
Police Officer of the Year Award: Fiona Temple, director of road safety, ICBC was joined by Chief Const. Jim Chu, Vancouver Police Department to present the award to Sgt. Rob Faoro. Chief Chu described how the honour is the top award with the recipient selected from 75 commendations made throughout the year. Sgt. Faoro said after 30 years in the police force, this was the highlight of his career, and he acknowledged his homicide team.
“If you play with great players, you become a great player,” he said.
Fire Fighter of the Year Award: Wayne Stevens of the JIBC School of Public Safety and Security and Fire Chief John McKearney presented the award to Capt. Rob Plecas for his actions both on and off duty during his 27 years with the fire service. Plecas said he had no regrets and would not have chosen any other career, despite every fire fighter having “scars you can’t see but can feel,” spoken from experience as a member of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team. He also praised the police officers he works alongside: “It’s been a privilege to work alongside the Vancouver Police Department,” he said.
Police Officer and Fire Fighter of the Year Award biographies:
Sgt. Rob Faoro, 2011 recipient of the Police Officer of the Year Award, has a wide breadth of experience since joining the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) in 1981, including stints with patrol, strike force, the coordinated law enforcement unit (CLEU) and, most recently, the major crime section (MCS).
Faoro was promoted to corporal in 1992 and has served as a supervisor or detective in the jail, patrol, CLEU and MCS. He has been a sergeant in patrol and MCS, where he was first assigned in 1995. He worked as a homicide detective until 2008, when was made a sergeant in charge of a homicide team.
In his career, Faoro has worked as lead investigator, file coordinator or team leader in about 40 homicides. He has taken a lead role in the investigation of several high-profile murders, and has distinguished himself by taking a leading role in two enormously successful major projects — EVIAN, the investigation into a corrupt VPD member, and RESCUE, the investigation into a highly organized group of murderous, predatory drug traffickers operating in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side.
Faoro has also investigated a number of internal and external police-involved shootings and in-custody deaths, which require significant leadership and investigative skills given the extreme scrutiny these investigations are subject to.
Faoro has been consistently chosen to lead teams that are engaged in high profile, complex investigations. When a high degree of leadership and investigative ability is needed, Sgt. Faoro's name always surfaces.
The trust and respect for his skills are widely held by both peers and management. Faoro has been personally responsible for successfully concluding some of the most challenging and publically scrutinized investigations undertaken by the VPD and, as such, that level of commitment, leadership and policing ability has led to Sgt. Faoro being named "Police Officer of the Year.”
Capt. Rob Plecas, 2011 recipient of the Fire Fighter of the Year Award, is a second generation fire fighter, and his wife of 29 years, Teresa, have two sons aged 24 and 22. During his free time, Rob enjoys working on a ranch and as a fishing guide.
In the 27 years that he has been with the VFRS, Rob has served as a Fire Fighter, a Fire Boat operator, a member of the High Angle and Confined Space Technical Rescue team and served on the Honour Guard.
Some highlights in Rob’s career were going to New Orleans with 30 other fire fighters, volunteering their time to help rebuild homes after Hurricane Katrina as well as going to New York post 9/11 to help fellow fire fighters pay respects to the fallen.
Rob has gone above and beyond to support many members of the department in his role as the lead for the Employee Assistance Program, a program dedicated to helping fellow members with personal and substance abuse issues. He is also an important member of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, a program which sets out to assist Fire Fighters in openly dealing with the many difficult incidents we experience.
Rob’s dedication and mentorship have earned him much respect from his peers and he is well deserving of this award.