Some great news recently as the provincial government honoured the late Tim Jones with a BC Parks Volunteer Award for his outstanding contribution to saving lives, promoting outdoor safety, and advocating the importance of backcountry awareness.
On April 23, I joined my colleague Naomi Yamamoto to present the posthumous Volunteer Legacy Award to Jones’ widow, Lindsay Jones, at the third annual Tim Jones Legacy Fundraiser. The event was an opportunity for us to recognize the 26 years Jones volunteered with North Shore Rescue, leading countless searches in Mount Seymour and Cypress provincial parks and saving more than 1,600 lives.
There are more than 1,000 people alive today because of Tim and the team he led at North Shore Rescue. His dedication to saving lives, mentoring young recruits, and promoting safety and backcountry awareness made him a hero, but it was the deep caring he had for the people he knew and worked with that brought the respect and admiration of everyone around him. I consider myself lucky to have been able to call him a friend, and I’m very proud to honour him with this Volunteer Legacy Award.
BC Parks Volunteer Awards recognize people and organizations that go above and beyond to protect, preserve and benefit B.C.’s parks and park programs and services. The Volunteer Legacy Award is presented to an individual whose cumulative accomplishments through volunteerism have made a significant impact on parks and protected areas.
Tim Jones began volunteering with North Shore Rescue in 1987, and volunteered many hours per week on top of his full-time work as a Paramedic in Charge for the B.C. Ambulance Service. He was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2011, and was bestowed with an honourary doctorate in 2012 by Capilano University.
With the weather getting warmer and more people heading to the mountains to enjoy the beautiful hikes our region offers, be sure that you and your friends are well prepared before you head up. North Shore Rescue has a handy section on education on their website that provides an abundance of information on what to take, how to be prepared and how to react in a dangerous situation, and I encourage everyone considering heading out for a hike, no matter the duration, to be prepared (northshorerescue.com/education/).
To donate to the Tim Jones Legacy Fund: fundrazr.com/campaigns/3gPPf
For more information on the BC Parks Volunteer Awards, visit: env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/volunteers/recognition.
Learn more about what is happening in our riding of North Vancouver-Seymour by subscribing to my monthly MLA report at janethornthwaitemla.bc.ca/subscribe. Contact me by e-mail at [email protected], by phone at 604-983-9852, on Facebook at facebook.com/jane.thornthwaite, on Twitter at @jthornthwaite, or stop by my constituency office at 217-1233 Lynn Valley Road.
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
