We're celebrating two individuals this week that have community-spirit written on their hearts.
If you look up the word community in the dictionary you'll be sure to see a picture of Bill Hubbs.
The current chair of the St. Mary's Hospital Foundation, Hubbs was instrumental in last year's public fundraising campaign to purchase a new CAT scanner for our hospital. He's also worked for the local Community Foundation, was treasurer for the Gibsons Area Community Centre Society (GACCS) which started the push for the new recreation centre in Gibsons and even ran in the last municipal election to try and become a director on the Sunshine Coast Regional District.
Hubbs is a community-minded individual and for all of his achievements and work on behalf of this community, he was rewarded with one of 45 community achievement awards handed out by the province.
He's modest of course, not willing to take any credit or the spotlight, but we're not going to let him off the hook that easily. This recognition is well deserved and well earned. This community owes you their gratitude for everything that you have done and continue to do to make the Sunshine Coast a better place.
We're celebrating another wonderful individual although it's with a heavy heart.
After recently celebrating her 90th birthday with an on air party on Coast Cable 11, Maryanne West suffered a stroke on Monday and passed away peacefully later that evening.
Her passing came as a great shock to many family and friends. Her life was rich and fulfilling and she too had a great sense of community. She was a firefighter during the Second World War, was a teacher and raised three daughters with her husband Frank in Port Mellon. She's probably best remembered for her work as producer at Coast Cable 11, helping to spearhead more than 1,000 shows for the viewers of the Coast. She was famous for her chocolate chip cookies, which she baked every week and treated the production crew and on-air guests too at the end of every program. It became a celebrated ritual to get the cookie at the end of the show.
West was a pioneer, a builder and the community has lost a great woman with a passion for life far too soon. But we celebrate and pay tribute to the 'Cookie Mom' as she now joins her beloved Frank in a better place.
