911 Awards: Dedication to career service recognized and celebrated

They are a collection of men and women who have spent their working lives serving and protecting people in their community.

For them, the spotlight of the Career Achievement Award was turned on them to illustrate their commitment to their skills and sense of duty.

The Richmond RCMP honoured two of its members — Cpl. Annette Martin and Staff Sgt. Bob “Pink” Pinkewycz.

Martin dedicated 19 years of her RCMP service to the community of Richmond working in traffic safety, community policing and youth — the latter o which is where she deserves the most recognition.

Martin has been a consistent, strong advocate for youth and has been involved in the development and launch of numerous programs.

Pinkewycz, known as “Pink,” is looked upon as a patient person, mentor and role model, said Insp. Sean Maloney, Operations Officer with Richmond RCMP, who presented the award.

“Many of his colleagues consider “Pink” to be the epitome of what a police officer and supervisor should be and he is very deserving of this recognition this evening,” Maloney said.

Richmond Fire Rescue honoured a trio of its members: Chief Gord Graebel, Capt. Dave MacDonald, and Dep. Chief Tim Wilkinson.

Wilkinson started his firefighter career in 1986 and swiftly progressed through the department’s ranks. Prior to becoming Dep. Chief, he was also the Fire Fighter Union President of IAFF Local 1286 for 10 years.

Wilkinson has been nominated for many 911 awards with the Richmond Chamber of Commerce for his outstanding commitment to the City of Richmond and was recently awarded his 25 year Provincial Medal.

Throughout Graebel’s 29-year career he has been passionate about fire tactics, fire behaviour, firefighter safety initiatives and continuously bettering the department through new training initiatives. 

Graebel has been involved with training from the start of his career and always made sure he was on top of the newest fire tactics, training initiatives and safety standards. 

Most recently, Chief Graebel has spearheaded a department wide training initiative called S.L.I.C.E.R.S., which is an acronym that was developed to “operationalize” fire dynamic research concepts.

MacDonald was hired as a firefighter August 1989 and immediately took on new challenges with a commitment to detail that created a strong foundation for his future. He became Capt. of Fire Investigations and Special Hazards in 2009, and would complete his last nine years with Richmond Fire Rescue as an expert in his field, contributing with unparalleled dedication to the fire and life safety of the City of Richmond as the primary fire investigator, attending close to 90 per cent of all of the city’s fires during his tenure.

MacDonald, the only one of the three on hand to receive their award, said his love of the job came through the feeling of being valued.

“Getting this award tonight is the icing on the cake,” he said.

MacDonald added he was also grateful for the support of his family over the years.

“I was so lucky that with all of those midnight calls, I never got a hard time from my family,” he said. “I missed lots of birthdays and Christmases, and I’d really like to thank them.”

Receiving the Career Achievement Award for the B.C. Ambulance/Paramedic Service was Ivano Bicego who began his career in 1987.

Since that time, Bicego tackled all situations with dedication and a smile.

He frequently went beyond the call of duty, even responding to calls alone, when appropriate.

He was nominated for a Paramedic of the Year 911 Award in 2013, and frequently volunteers at YVR — where he ended his career in the bike squad — and in the Richmond community at events like the Salmon Festival.

His team player attitude has earned him a great level of respect from his peers.

For Coast Guard Capt. Karl Seselja, he knew from early on that where he wanted to take his career.

“It all started in Richmond when I was eight-years-old,” Seselja told the audience, adding it was on a fishing trip with his dad that he spied a hovercraft zooming past their spot on the water.

“I thought to myself that’s the coolest thing,” he said. “It’s whipping over the gill nets and doesn’t even touch the corks.

“I’m gonna drive that thing one day.”

That image stayed with Seselja, and in 1979 he joined the Coast Guard College and began working on the Great Lakes after graduating in 1982.

He came back to his family roots on the west coast a year later, serving on a variety of vessels in the region.

In 1989, he joined the crews at the hovercraft base on Sea Island.

“In his many years of work on the hovercraft, he has been involved in countless SAR (Search and Rescue) missions of every type imaginable,” said Bruce Briggs, Officer in charge of Canadian Coast Guard Station Sea Island who presented the award. “He’s also one of the best story tellers Sea Island has ever had. And his upbeat and inventive ideas will be missed around the table in the mess.”