BCNU Leadership Awards Presentation
Convention 2024 delegates were treated to the BCNU’s leadership awards presentation on day two of the union’s annual meeting.
BCNU President Adriane Gear presented the awards to two members who were acknowledged before their peers for their exceptional contributions to nursing and their communities. Gear offered hearty congratulations to Laura Starck, recipient of the NU Leader Award, and Juanita Little, recipient of the Excellence in Leadership & Advocacy Award.
The NU Leader Award honours a student member, or member with under five years nursing experience, who has demonstrated outstanding achievements in BCNU-focused advocacy and activism and who embodies union values.
The Excellence in Leadership and Advocacy Award honours a member who has made a difference to the health and well-being of their community and their profession through leadership, activism or social justice efforts.
Starck works as an RN at Vancouver General Hospital. Aside from her emergency nursing duties, she has held many roles in the union’s Central Vancouver region. Starck is currently a steward at large and has also served as executive treasurer and lobby coordinator. Starck’s nominators noted her talent for amplifying nurses’ voices and strengthening the bond between the union, its members and the community at large. She is known for embracing her steward responsibilities and showing genuine passion for union advocacy and activism.
Little is an RN in the union’s Thompson North Okanagan region and works as the community integration care coordinator for home and community care at Ashcroft and District General Hospital. Little’s colleagues credit her with helping secure a new LPN position to help provide home health services in Lytton, BC, as it rebuilds from 2021’s devastating wildfires. She’s known for her critical thinking, broad understanding of rural health care and for her strong sense of social justice.
Each award includes a monetary prize of $1,000 and a beautifully etched crystal piece featuring the union’s commissioned artwork, Raven Steals the Light, by Haida artist Erik Prytula from the eagle clan Tsiits Gitanee. This artwork is inspired by the creation story where Raven steals the sun, the moon and the stars and puts them in the sky, creating life as we know it.