From taking pictures of our beautiful scenery to helping launch UNBC’s Engineering program, those are some of the feats the 2019 Citizens of the Year Honourees possess.
Albert Koehler, Chuck Chin, and Noreen Rustad highlight this year’s class after being announced by the Prince George Community Foundation on Wednesday at the Coast Inn of the North Hotel.
Koehler tells MyPGNow.com while he admits to playing a role in founding a program at UNBC, he couldn’t have done it himself.
“In the end, it takes a team to really make things happen, one person alone cannot do it. You can lead something and champion it but you need other people to buy in so it’s a team effort.”
As for what the turning point was in getting the program off the ground, Koehler states it took all groups including the university, City of Prince George and the provincial government to finally get on the same page.
“Everybody finally understood that we need educators and we need to educate individuals who can develop and bring our community forward compared to where it was.”
Koehler served as a councillor at City Hall from 2011 to 2018 and also was named a member of UNBC’s Engineering Advisory Council from 2009 to 2010.
On the other hand, Chin and his camera have captured a lot of great moments at local events, he believes there’s one thing about Prince George that makes it special.
“It’s the people that make this community work and the other thing a lot of people know is the beautiful scenery, the four seasons and that sports that are around are just amazing.”
“The honour was unexpected but it’s nice to be recognized by your community and I’m thankful for that.”
All three will be recognized at an event on October 11th.