When you have two amazing candidates, why only pick one?
The Immigrant Welcome Centre has awarded Layne Marshal and Mayor Andy Adams their 2022 Ambassador Award. The Award identifies individuals or organizations in the community that have demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities in creating a community or organizational environment that welcomes and includes all newcomers, acknowledging their diversity, humanity, and value.
IWC staff and board members nominate the candidates, then the IWC Executive Director, in consultation with the Board of Directors, selects the award recipient(s). The Ambassador Award is presented at the Immigrant Welcome Centre Annual General Meeting, which took place on September 21st.
This year, Layne Marshal and Mayor Andy Adams were identified for their community leadership and dedication to community inclusion. Their contribution to the community includes a long list of accomplishments that would be too long to report here – so let’s see some of the highlights.
Marshal is a past chair of the IWC board, as well as a member of the Daybreak Rotary Club, a board member of both the local and provincial Chambers of Commerce, and an active supporter of the Canadian Blood Services. He says: “Michael Connelly used to say ‘Either everyone counts or nobody does,’ and I’ve always tried to live by that thought – and the Immigrant Welcome Centre exemplifies that thought.”
Mayor Adams has served the community of Campbell River as a mayor for 8 years, as a councilor for the previous 9 years and before that, he served 6 years on various Committees and Commissions. He has also been a supporter of the Immigrant Welcome Centre for a long time. Adams is a member of the Rotary Club, in which he has also served as a President, and he’s a passionate advocate for the exchange students programs organized by the Rotary Club and the Campbell River Twinning Society. Adams says: “We are so fortunate to be Canadians, and I am encouraged with how Campbell River is evolving into a truly multicultural community.”
IWC’s Executive Director Jim Brennan believes that committing to leadership starts with a choice: “Robert Greenleaf used to say ‘The first and most important choice that leaders make is the choice to serve, without which one’s capacity to lead is severely limited.’”
To the award recipients, congratulations and thank you for your commitment to serve the community!
