Ray Pillman BC Marine Trails Service Award
The award is given to an individual who has contributed significantly to the BC Marine Trails or made a significant contribution to the greater paddling community. Names can be submitted to the board up to a month before our AGM. The award is presented in the memory of Ray Pillman. This will be presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond helping out on the BC coastline and whose work reflects the core values of our organization.
2023 Winner - Nick Heath
Tribute by Steve Best presented at the 2023 AGM
I don’t know how far back Nick’s involvement in the world of BC sea kayaking goes, but when I first became involved in kayaking organizations in 2010, Nick was already an established figure on the scene. I know that his involvement with BC Marine Trails Network Association goes back to its beginnings in 2008.
I first came in contact with Nick through SKABC. I was doing solo paddles on the central coast, the west coast of Vancouver Island and the west coast of Haida Gwaii, and Nick would grill me on every detail of every site I visited, and in return he would provide me with information on sites that BC Marine Trails wasn’t showing to the public yet. That was in his role as data manager for BCMT, the keeper of the map, and Nick’s knowledge of every site on the map is simply mind-boggling.
He has been a board member of BCMT from the beginning, a member of the Trail Development Committee, and region manager for several regions, and he has represented BCMT on a number of organizations . That’s in the cyber and political world, in the physical world, Nick gets out in his outboard doing site assessment in various parts of the province, this last summer in the Broughton Archipelago. Nick was a key member of the team that established our first marine trail, the Sea to Sky Marine Trail, scouring Howe Sound for potential sites and putting in the work to make them a reality.
On a more local level, Nick has served in various roles for SKABC, where he is currently Treasurer and Director, leads trips and workshops, and he continues to work tirelessly on the Sea to Sky Marine Trail and other projects. BC Marine Trails is blessed with a number of very hard-working volunteers, but I can’t think of anyone more hard-working than Nick, and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the very first Ray Pillman BC Marine Trails Service Award. Congratulations, Nick.
Special thanks to Stephanie Meinke for creating and donating the beautiful artwork to honour this year’s recipient. Stephanie was the winner of the inaugural Ray Pillman Award in 2022.
