RFABC Awards

This award is presented to any person within the Association for meritorious service to the Association.

The conditions of the award are:

Names for the John Bate Award of Merit may be submitted by members or by Zones giving the reasons for selection.

This is awarded to one outstanding new or improved facility in the province each year.

The conditions of the award are:

It must be a recreation, sport or leisure facility. It must be a relatively new or newly renovated facility. It must meet a demonstrated (and greatest) community need. It should demonstrate innovations in design, energy management, operations, revenue generation, services, etc. The facility or community must have a member of good standing within the RFABC. The facility should demonstrate efficiencies in operation, energy conservation and preventative maintenance.

To learn more about Bill Woycik and the history of this award, as well as past recipients: BILL WOYCIK AWARD HISTORY

This award recognizes a RFABC Member for their willingness to assist their fellow members throughout the Association.

• Dedication and involvement within their Zone.
• For service to overall growth of the Association.
• For an outstanding new member of the Association for their dedication and achievement in their community or facility.

The conditions of the award are:

Names for the Dave Dauphinee Exceptional Service Award may be submitted by members or by Zones giving the reasons for this selection.

The Exceptional Service Award is named in honour of Dave Dauphinee who was the First President of the Association when it was originally known as the BC Arena, Auditorium & Stadium Association (1950-1951).

Dave started out in the recreation facilities field as an Engineer at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) Forum in Vancouver and later moved through to being named Manager of that facility. When Empire Stadium was built for the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Dave was named the Stadium Manager. Throughout his career at the PNE Dave continued to take on more responsibilities culminating in him being named General Manager of the overall organization. Dave also became a mentor and friend for a long time Honourary Past President of the Association, John Bate. As an interesting side note, John and his wife Marilyn named their son David in honour of Dave Dauphinee.

Dave sadly passed away in 1979.

This award recognizes the contribution of an individual, non-member, community, or organization outside of the membership of RFABC for their willingness to assist the Association. Other criteria is service to the overall growth of the Association, increasing valued partnerships, and dedication and involvement with the Association.

The conditions of the award are:

Names for the Gerry Morgan Memorial Trophy may be submitted by Members or by Zones giving the reasons for the nomination.

This award is named in honour of Gerry Morgan who was a long serving Association’s Secretary-Treasurer (1982-1986 and 1991-1993) and President (1989-1990).

Gerry was the Superintendent, Parks & Recreation Dept. for the Village of Gold River. The local ice arena/curling rink/community hall complex is now called the Gerry Morgan Memorial Centre. Gerry was very dedicated to his work on behalf of the RFABC. In his role as Secretary-Treasurer Gerry ensured that the Association’s financial matters were kept in very good order. Gerry also acted as the historian for the RFABC and could at almost anytime provide accurate information about an issue off the top of his head, or by consulting his very detailed records he kept for RFABC.

Gerry sadly passed away in 1999.

This award recognizes an individual who must be currently working full-time for a minimum of one calendar year, in a maintenance capacity within a public or private recreation facility (e.g. pool, arena, fitness centre, community theatre).

The conditions of the award are:

The nominee must be currently employed in front line or career entry level positions and excludes supervisory or management staff. Nominated individuals are not required to be RFABC members. Staff members of current RFABC Board members are not eligible for nominations by a Board member.

The Operators Award is named in honour of Harry Atkinson, the seventh President (1961-1962) of the Association. Harry was the Manager of the Kerrisdale Arena in the City of Vancouver. He worked hard with the other members of his facility staff to ensure a high standard of operation was being provided for the users. This dedication to their work was reflected in the nice reviews contained in some written documents from the 1960’s time period. Harry in his role as Association President also worked on the major provincial issue of the payment of music royalties and one that continues to be part of the recreation facilities’ field today.

Harry was one of the organizers for the Spouses’ Program at the Association’s annual conferences for a period of time. Marilyn Bate who has won this award in the past appreciated the work that Harry did for this program. At the time the Spouses’ Program was designed for the wives and girl friends of the members, Associates and Recreation Commissioners. Marilyn along with the other participating spouses were able to make some very good friends over the years and had an enjoyable time in the various communities which hosted the annual event.

Harry sadly passed away in 1987.

This award is presented to the member of the Association who in the opinion of the President has made an exceptional contribution to RFABC during the year.

This award is named in honour of Robert John McNaughton “Bob” Muir. Bob was a hockey player, husband, father, hardware merchant and a very civic minded individual in his community of Powell River. In addition to his many other accomplishments and responsibilities he took on the major role of being Chairman for the building of the Powell River (Willingdon) Arena. This facility opened in 1955. That same year he was honoured with the title of “Good Citizen” for his dedicated service to the community. Tragically, Bob Muir and all of the other people on board were killed in the 1956 crash of Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack.

To honour his memory the Association decided to create a trophy in Bob’s name. The original conditions of the award were “President’s Award to the “Manager of the Year” for his outstanding contribution to the BC Arena, Auditorium & Stadium Association”. It was presented by Bob Muir’s widow Alice Muir to the first winner in 1957.

This award is in recognition of an individual who is a member that has strongly contributed and are dedicated to the programming objectives and goals of the Association.

The conditions of the award are:

• Individual must be currently working full-time for a minimum of one calendar year in the programming capacity within a public or private recreation facility (e.g. pool, arena, fitness centre, community theatre).
• Nominee must be currently employed in front line program positions and excludes supervisory or management staff.
• Nominated individuals are not required to be RFABC members.
• Nominations may be submitted by members or by Zones to the Awards committee.
• The Program Director or delegate shall present the award at the annual conference.

Joyce enjoyed working in the ice arena field and was a figure skater for many years. She promoted the concept of using ice arenas in the province for more than just venues for renting ice out to user groups which involved the creation of innovative and fun programs. Joyce promoted gender equity and tried to encourage more females to become involved with the RFABC and the ice arena industry. She led by example and was involved with the technical aspects of recreation facilities and in establishing the Ice Facility Operator designation.

This award is to recognize an RFABC instructor who has provided an exceptional level of educational instruction to students and has contributed to furthering the goals of the Association. The recipient shall receive a year’s free membership for the following year. The award presentation shall be at the annual Cadre meeting and shall be noted at the annual conference.

The conditions of the award are:

• Has provided an exceptional level of educational instruction to students.
• Has contributed to furthering the goals of the Association.
• Developed and delivered new teaching ideas, techniques or programs.
• Availability and commitment to educating members in the recreation sector.

The Education Director, Education/Marketing Manager and Immediate Past President will select the recipient.

Ron has served in many positions on the RFABC board including as President from 2002-2003 and most recently as Education Director and was instrumental in the development of the Education Policy Manual. He is the recipient of several awards provided by the Association. Recognition for Ron’s achievements extend to the Life Saving Society where he was awarded the H.R.H. Prince Michael of Kent, 125th Anniversary Certificate of Merit to honour individuals who have given distinguished service to the Society. For his contributions and dedication, Ron received a RFABC Lifetime Membership in 2020.

This recreation student bursary is named in honor of the first Secretary-Treasurer (1950-51) and also the longest serving President of the Association.

The bursary was started in 1981 for students in the Recreation Facilities Management Program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, BC and subsequently transferred to Vancouver Community College when the program was moved there in 1986. It is currently presented annually to a student enrolled in the Recreation Leadership Diploma Program at Langara College in Vancouver, BC.

The conditions of the award are:

The full-time graduating student enrolled in the fourth term of the program must have demonstrated to the Department faculty members a talent for and an interest in recreation facilities’ operation, as well as a genuine interest in pursuing a career in the field. The student must also demonstrate attributes of a diligent self-starter who works hard to accomplish goals that benefit others.

The award is a cash bursary of $500.00. In addition, the student will receive an honorarium of up to $250.00 for travel expenses to assist in attending the annual RFABC Conference. The student must attend the conference in order to receive the honorarium and receipts for their travel expenses must be presented to the RFABC Executive Director prior to a reimbursement being made. The conference host community will provide accommodation and meals (billets) for the student during the conference.

Joe Dukowski served as the second President (1951-1957) and then again as the fourteenth President (1968-1969) of the Association. Joe served as the Manager of the Victoria Memorial Arena for a period of time and then later served as the Manager of the Sports Centre in Coquitlam.

Denis Leclerc is a Past President of the Association who worked as a younger guy for Joe in Coquitlam. Denis described him in positive terms as an “old school” and hands on manager. He worked very well with the staff while being firm and fair in his dealings with them. In addition, he was willing to jump in and help out when things got busy in the concession and lounge areas during major special events like curling bonspiels.

Joe sadly passed away in 1981.

This award is presented to a student enrolled in the Recreation Leadership Diploma Program at Langara College in Vancouver B.C.

The conditions of the award are:

It is presented to the second-year full-time student as chosen by the Instructor who showed strong leadership and a high level of interest and aptitude in the RECR 1162 course during their first term of study. The recipient must also demonstrate a willingness to help their fellow classmates during the Outdoor Field School component of the course. The award is a cash bursary of $500.00.

RFABC Associate Members (companies and individuals that provide products and services to the recreation industry) added a second scholarship starting in 1991 to help support a deserving student each year.

Some early Associate Members who advocated for the establishment of this scholarship included: Doug Churchill, Dave Gillette and Dave Warner. Later on Perry Coleman and Norm Smith worked hard to cultivate the Associates’ continued sponsorship of this scholarship and also to boost the current dollar amount to be given out.

From 1991-2008 the conditions of the award were:

It was awarded to a second-year full-time student with the top G.P.A. in the first term of the program.

RFABC-Island Zone Education $500 Grant has been established by the RFABC-Vancouver Island Zone to recognize the significant contributions and service from the Zone’s long serving members and their commitment to support educational contributions and commitment to the RFABC.

The conditions of the award are:

• Must reside within the Vancouver Island Zone of the RFABC
• Must be employed in the parks, recreation or community development industry or a student currently enrolled in a recognized recreation studies program
• Must complete an on-line application and agree to terms of the grant. The application shall include a brief summary of why the applicant feels they should be awarded the grant.
• Must provide the RFABC Island Zone a written summation of how the grant was used or alternatively attend a zone meeting to speak to the usage
• Must submit the grant application within the time frame allotted

Grant Process and Parameters

• This grant will be awarded annually by the Island Zone to a single recipient which will expire in 2 years from time of award, if not used.
• The grant will include a $500 voucher to be used for any RFABC or recreational educational course, program, conference or Leisure Development Course. The Recipient will also receive a 1-year free RFABC membership. The voucher is non-transferable and has no cash value.

This is a plate that is presented annually to the most effective Zone.

The conditions of the award are:

• Percentage of attendance at Zone meetings.
• Number and content of Zone meetings.
• Contributions to the magazine by Zone.
• Attendance at the conference by Zone members.
• Workshops/seminars conducted by the Zone.

This award recognizes the outstanding contributions to the Association by an Associate Member during the year.

The conditions of the award are:

The immediate Past President and Associate Director in consultation with the Executive Director will select the recipient and the award shall be presented at the Conference Trade Show.

This award was created in 2016 by Ron Aubrey who was the President of the Association from 2002-2003 and also a long serving Education Chairman of the Association. At the time of his retirement in 2002 Ron was the Sports Centre Manager for the Municipality of Esquimalt. He has been teaching Pool Operator Courses for over 40 years.

This award has been established by the RFABC and Polar Engineering to recognize a recreation facility that is an industry leader in climate action by taking on and implementing a bold climate action project, implementing cutting-edge green technology, and drastically reducing its carbon footprint.

The conditions of the award are:

• Must be a  sport or leisure facility in BC
• Must have completed this project in the two previous calendar years
• Must have completed a bold climate action project by either implementing new technology or achieving deep carbon reductions
• Must be a member in good standing with RFABC.