Jim Forward, a committed volunteer in the local chapter of the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron, has been awarded the National Award for the Western Provinces as top instructor for 2019.
Forward got involved with the Sunshine Coast Power and Sail Squadron in 2015. He had always been interested in all things nautical and also in helping others acquire a better understanding of boating, to make them better boaters and safer on the water.
“Our program on the Sunshine Coast has gotten better and better over the past few years, because of the network that Past Commander and National Officer Jack Adams and Commander Ted Lewis have implemented,” he said. “All these go to making teaching fun for our students. When they have fun, they enjoy the classes and learn better. And it all comes down to a safer experience on the water.”
The award is called the CPS-ECP G. William Bowman Volunteer Instructor of the Year 2019 – Western Provinces. It’s named after G. William Bowman, who initiated instruction of the Boating Course in Canada in 1938. Bowman became the first commander of a squadron and the first chief commander of CPS. The award is given annually at the CPS AGM in the fall for three areas – Atlantic Provinces and Quebec, Ontario, and Western Provinces.
– Submitted by Caroline Au Yeung
