De Hart says choosing winners of civic awards a ‘huge project’

The head of Kelowna’s civic awards committee doesn’t play a role in selecting the annual winners.

Coun. Maxine De Hart on Monday praised the volunteers and city staff who review the nominees and choose those to be honoured.

“I’m not in your position to really decide,” De Hart said, nevertheless describing the selection process as a “huge project” that involves a “difficult decision” because so many commendable people are nominated.

Dozens of individuals, sports teams and organizations are nominated for 17 awards, with the presentation ceremony set for April 26. Here are the nominees: Woman of the Year: Candace Chisholm; Cathy Jennens; Catherine Williams.

Man of the Year: Peter Boyd; Richard Deacon; Bill Justus.

Young Male Volunteer: Kristian Oppenheim; Shilong Pan; Finnegan Phil.

Young Female Volunteer: Jenny Kang; Nicole Keeler; Ashley Robinson.

Sports Team: KSS boys curling team; OKM senior girls soccer team; U18 Sun Devils AAA midget baseball team.

Female athlete: Veronika Fagan; Lucia Jakab; Taryn O’Neill.

Male athlete: Brent Fikowski; Grant Shephard; Tony Wilkinson.

Bob Giordano Memorial (sports volunteer): Cara Fischer; Bob Harris; Linda McIntosh.

Female Augie Ciancone Memorial (outstanding high school athlete): Karina Bagi; Holly McGarvey; Taryn O’Neill.

Male Augie Ciancone Memorial: Clarke Larsen; Jackson Obst; Quinn Rasmussen.

Honour in the Arts: Laurie Koss; David McIlvride; Simone Orlando.

Teen Honour in the Arts: Griffin Hodge; Madelyn Miyashita; Kristian Oppenheim.

Volunteer organization of the year: Central Okanagan Search and Rescue; Emergency Support Services; Kiwanis Clubs of Kelowna.

Small Business: Coast Capital Savings; Scotia Wealth Management; Start Fresh.

Medium to Large Business: Costco; Crowe MacKay; The Home Depot.

Individual Champion for Environment: Gordon Lovegrove; Angela Nagy; Linda Trepanier.

Business Champion for Environment: Nido Design; One Big Table; Value Village.