Every year at the Northern BC Winter Games, two special awards are presented to individuals in the Host Community.  This page provides a list of Award Recipients as well as the Award Criteria used to select the recipients.

 

Award Recipients
The recipients are determined by the Host Community Board and presented by the Host Community and the Northern B.C. Winter Games Society during the Games.

Award Criteria
Sheilagh McCullough Award
Sheilagh was very involved in the community and her church. One of the things that gave her great satisfaction was her work as a sign language teacher; she enjoyed working children with hearing impairments and their parents. 

When the 1997 Games in Terrace were announced and the Games Office opened (in July 1996) Sheilagh was the first volunteer to walk in the door. She wanted to help get it going. She was told she would be called when she was needed. After about a week with no call she just came back to the office. Again she was told she would be called when she was needed. She just kept coming in. She became the number-two person (volunteer office assistant) dealing with day-to-day issues, answering questions, organizing volunteers, etc. 

Throughout this time she was getting over cancer. About 5 weeks prior to the Games she got a report about the cancer - it was positive - the cancer was gone! Not only was she looking forward to the Games but the trip she was planning for about a week after the Games to take her kids and grandkids to Disneyland. 
Sadly, three weeks before the Games, she died suddenly of heart problems. The 1997 Host Board decided she needed to be recognized. They dedicated the 1997 Games to her memory and created this award.

The Sheilagh McCullough Award is presented each year to a volunteer who goes above and beyond the call of duty and shows a real and unprecedented commitment to the Games.

Ken Davies Memorial Award - "Spirit of the North Award"
Ken Davies was one of the founders of the Northern BC Winter Games. He was determined to offer northern athletes a sporting competition unique to the north. It was also Ken's idea that the Games be rotated to different communities. The Northern BC Winter Games has led to the development of sporting facilities, coaching and officials experience and increased athlete development in throughout the north. 

Those who knew Ken remember him as a powerful thinker, an able administrator and a gifted teacher. He epitomized the idea that "together we can do anything"! Ken who was from Fort St. John, succumbed to cancer in 1983. 

The Ken Davies Memorial Award was established to by the Northern BC Winter Games Society to honour this man who had contributed so significantly to development and sustainability of the Northern BC Winter Games. 

The Ken Davies Award is presented annually to an athlete, coach or organizer who best exemplifies the "Spirit of the North". Ken would be proud to know that there was an award being given in his name to a person who displays the spirit of the Games that he helped to develop. 

The Ken Davies Award is presented each year to an athlete, coach or organizer who best exemplifies the "Spirit of the North" and the "Spirit of the Northern BC Winter Games". 

Recipient Biographies

Sheilagh McCullough Memorial Award
Connie Richter and Gail Weber
Connie Richter first coached a junior curling team at the Northern BC Winter Games in 1989.  During the period 1988-1994 she held many high-ranking posts in the curling world, including most notably, District 6 Convener on the BC Ladies Curling Association Board of Directors, and President of both the Fort St. John General Club and Ladies Club.  Along the way, Connie has mentored young people in the sport including her daughters Marnie and Stacy.  Connie just recently retired following a 15-year career as a teachers' aid in School District #60. 
Gail Weber first volunteered as a phoning Mom for the Fort St. John Figure Skating Club in 1974 and proudly witnessed her son Danny, and daughters Darci and Dawn progress through the figure skating levels.  She has held every position on the Board, including President for many years.  Gail is currently the Skate Canada BC Section Chairperson.  
Connie and Gail were Co-Presidents of the 1994 Northern BC Winter Games in Fort St John.  When no bids were received to host the 2000 Games, the NBCWG Society asked them if they would consider forming a committee to bring the Games to Fort St. John.  They graciously accepted the challenge. Connie and Gail also sat on the Board of Directors of the NBCWG Society in 1993, 1994, 1999 and 2000. For decades, these fine ladies have volunteered in every capacity imaginable at every major curling and figure skating event in Fort St. John.  Naturally, the 2007 NBCWG were no exception, as Connie acted as the curling Sport Chair and Gail was the accounting room chairperson for figure skating.  Connie and Gail epitomize the spirit and energy of the Peace Country and are very honoured to have received the prestigious Sheilagh McCullough Memorial Award.  They have always answered the bell whenever their drive and experience was called upon, and are truly two of this community's greatest resources.

Ken Davies Memorial Award
Wayne Cheesman
Being born in Calgary, Wayne began life as an Albertan but moved with his family to the Fort St. John area at a very early age. He attended small rural schools, graduated from the local high school and went on to gain an undergraduate degree in Education from UBC and his Masters Degree in Educational Administration from Simon Fraser University.  While it was not his intention to return to his home turf to work he in fact did that, "working his way around the parking lot" as he refers to it - serving for 12 years as a school principal and then working his way through various district office positions until spending his last six years before retiring recently as the Superintendent of Schools for the Peace River North School District.  Wayne has always believed in the importance of providing activities for young people.  In particular, when those activities were sport, it was important that everyone who wanted to participate, regardless of their ability, had that opportunity.  Throughout Wayne's 32-year career with School District #60, he was always 'on deck' each time the Games were hosted in Fort St. John, to ensure that school facilities were made readily available and staff was available, if they chose to do so, to contribute to the success of Games.  Wayne knew Ken Davies.  He remembers when Ken and others including Jack Philpot and Bill McColl, first floated the idea of providing an opportunity for residents of the north to participate in organized sport.  With the leadership these individuals provided, Fort St. John hosted the first Northern BC Winter Games in 1975 and again the following year.  During the Fort St. John 2007 Northern BC Winter Games, Wayne served as Co-Director of Transportation.  Wayne was a real credit to the Board of Directors and became known for his dedication, quiet leadership and most of all his willingness to accommodate the needs of others. "This was another opportunity," he says, "to give something back to the community that has been very good to me."  Wayne is deeply honoured to have been given the Ken Davies Memorial Award.