Convention Banquet Highlights
(L-R) Marilia Cordeiro, NU Leader Award recipient, and Reanne Sanford, Excellence in Leadership & Advocacy Award recipient.
Convention 2023 delegates spent the second evening of their annual meeting at a banquet hosted by the BCNU Simon Fraser region. The event saw the announcement of the union’s 2023 leadership award winners and a keynote presentation by architect and explorer Kevin Vallely.
BCNU President Aman Grewal presented the leadership awards to two members who were recognized for their outstanding contributions to their practice and communities. She offered congratulations to Marilia Cordeiro, recipient of the NU Leader Award, and Reanne Sanford, recipient of Excellence in Leadership & Advocacy Award.
Each award includes a prize of $1,000 and a beautiful, crystal keepsake featuring the artwork Raven Steals the Light by Haida artist Erik Prytula.
Cordeiro is an RN who works on the acute surgical unit at Lions Gate Hospital. Sanford is an RN who works on the Northern Interior Health Unit. Read more about Cordeiro and Sanford, and the work that earned their nominations for these distinguished annual awards.
Following the awards presentation, banquet attendees were entertained by talent mentor, author, architect and explorer Kevin Vallely. A member of the Explorer’s Club, an international organization dedicated to the advancement of field exploration and scientific inquiry, Vallely’s keynote presentation, entitled “Courageous Teams: Unlocking Extraordinary Results in Extreme Circumstances,” featured an account of how he and two teammates broke the world record in 2009 for the fastest unsupported trek to the Geographic South Pole.
Vallely led attendees though a team-building exercise that used storytelling to highlight situations and scenarios faced by a team, and asked delegates to choose options they felt would achieve the best outcome.