It's finally time to reveal the annual Best of Richmond where we survey our readers and ask them to rank local businesses – everything from pizza joints to hair salons.
Along with businesses and organizations, we also love to highlight Richmondites who make a difference in the community and who make the city strong. Some you may have heard of, others maybe not. Either way, their contribution towards building a healthy, vibrant community has been invaluable. Each day this week, we will introduce three of these people to you.
Matt Fisher
Matt Fisher, Richmond Olympic Oval coach brought the 2018 Winter Olympics to Richmond through his social media posts. It was through his photos posted to Instagram that Richmondites could get a little taste of what the Canadian Olympic snowboard team was up to, all the way in PyeongChang.
Born and raised in Victoria, Fisher spent most of his younger years playing all different sports with a focus on soccer and rugby. Upon graduating from high school he had a significant knee injury playing soccer that altered his life and career path. While he didn’t know it at the time, it would be the catalyst that would eventually land him in Richmond and focus on helping other athletes.
After helping to open the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence in Victoria, Fisher transitioned to the Canadian Sport Institute (CSI) which relocated their offices to the Richmond Olympic Oval. His time with CSI was spent primarily working with the women’s national soccer team prior to their bronze medal run in the 2012 London Olympics, as well as the Canada snowboard national freestyle team.
Between 2012 and 2016 the majority of his time was spent on the road with Canada Snowboard, which culminated in the opportunity to go to the 2014 Sochi Olympics as well as the 2018 PyeongChang games. In January of 2016 he became head strength and conditioning coach for the Oval’s High Performance Department. This position gave him the opportunity to continue working with national teams, while also indulging in his true passion which includes working with athletes and hopefully helping them to avoid injury and achieve their dreams both on and off the court/ice/field.
In a nutshell, how was your experience at the Olympics?
My experience at the Olympics was amazing, with all the highs as well as the lows you would expect. Our team managed to win a gold, two silvers and a bronze which made for a very successful outing for Canada Snowboard!
How did it feel to share your experience with your (and the Olympic Oval’s) followers at home through Instagram?
Since I am not a huge social media user, it was amazing to me the number of new connections that formed through my Instagram takeover. Not only did I feel like I made some great connections with fellow Canadians at home, I felt like was able to share a small part of my experience with people from around the world.
How do you stay healthy in Richmond?
While I work in Richmond, I live in Vancouver’s Olympic Village so I like to use my commute to start my day off on the right foot. For me, mental health is just as important as physical so I try to listen to a meditation podcast on my SkyTrain ride out. Then I will either walk or skateboard from the Lansdowne Station to the Oval to get a bit of physical activity before starting my work day. Working at the Oval obviously provides unlimited opportunity to stay healthy, so I utilize our fitness centres, yoga studios and even the back plaza along the river to give myself a mental break from my work throughout the day.
What’s your favourite Richmond park?
Terra Nova Adventure Park says it all with its sign suggesting it’s for “off leash kids.” This type of park provides challenges for kids and adults alike and its location is perfect to do a bicycle commute along the dyke and bike. We need more playgrounds like this to challenge our physical literacy for both young and old.
What’s on the top of your bucket list?
Following my time in PyeongChang I was lucky enough to spend about 10 days travelling through Japan and I fell in love with the country. I would love the opportunity to make it back there, possibly for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.
What’s your favourite food?
My mother grew up in East Los Angeles so despite her Japanese lineage, I grew up eating a lot of Mexican food. In the past decade the Lower Mainland has had an influx of great Mexican food that I could normally only find at home or down south.
What do you like best about Richmond?
The flat land and the fact the city is surrounded by water allows for some great leisurely bike rides. One of my favorite things to do is go for a ride along the dyke, refuel at one of the many great eateries in Steveston and then catch the sunset.
What’s your favourite sports team?
I’m going to be broad here and say any Canadian National Team. Having had the opportunity to work with over 15 different national teams, I have seen just how much of a sacrifice these women and men have made to represent their country, often at the expense of their own physical, mental and financial well-being.
Best place to take an out-of-town guest?
The Richmond Olympic Oval of course!
Alice Poon
Born and educated in Hong Kong, Alice received a bilingual education (Chinese and English) and full immersion in both Chinese and Western cultures while growing up.
She has long cherished a dream of writing historical fiction set in Old China. Chinese history, told through Jin Yong’s set of novels about ancient times, always fascinated and enamored Alice during her childhood.
In 2007, the Canadian Book Review Annual selected her non-fiction title Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, published in 2005, as the Editor’s Choice (Scholarly). The Chinese edition then became a bestseller and won the Hong Kong Book Prize in 2011.
In 2014, Alice published a semi-autobiographical novel Fated and Fateless, which is set in colonial Hong Kong prior to the handover to China. Her first historical novel, The Green Phoenix: A Woman Who Re-made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang, was published in September 2017.
Prior to her writing career, which included a stint in financial journalism, Alice had worked in the property development field in Hong Kong and Canada for a long time.
Currently she lives in Richmond, British Columbia, and is working on her next Old China historical novel.
How do you stay healthy in Richmond?
I use the gym at my apartment complex for exercise 3 times a week, and I take walks by the riverside at least once a week.
What’s your favourite Richmond park?
Garry Point Park.
What’s top of your bucket list?
To become an inspiring historical novelist.
What’s your favourite food?
Singapore laksa at Kari House in Steveston Village.
What’s your favourite book?
There are more than one! Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace is one of my favorites.
What do you like best about Richmond?
The Fall sunset view from the riverside boardwalk.
If Richmond was a celebrity, who would it be?
This is a hard question… maybe Nicholas Tse, the Hong Kong-born singer, songwriter and actor who grew up and was educated in Vancouver. He, like Richmond, is an epitome of Chinese and Western culture crossover.
What’s your favourite sports team?
Sorry, I don’t have one – I am not into sports.
Best place to take an out-of-town guest?
The Fishermen’s Wharf.
What other city would you compare Richmond to?
I would compare it to Hong Kong, as both cities are vibrantly cosmopolitan and enjoy a bi-cultural identity.
Amy Huang
Amy Huang is an entrepreneur, an active volunteer, a community leader and the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her community services and contributions to promote Canada-China economic and cultural relations.
Huang has been president of the North America Investment Association (NAIA) since 2009, and was president of the Canadian Chinese Business Development Association from 2007 to 2011.
She actively promotes two-way trade and investment activities between North America and Asia, especially between Canada and China in ways that can benefit the Canadian economy.
She led several trade delegations to China in 2009, 2011, and 2013, resulting in Canadian environmental technology and BC lumber exports to China, and some Chinese investment in Canada.
To promote Canadian agrifood exports to Asia, she successfully organized the Canada pavilion in the Food Expo 2017 organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and the first Belt & Road International Food Expo held in June, 2018.
Amy Huang also actively promotes cultural exchange activities and helps to raise funds for a variety of charity purposes.
How do you stay healthy in Richmond?
Eating healthy and relaxing in between business hours.
What’s your favourite Richmond park?
Richmond Nature park
What’s top of your bucket list?
Never thought of this.
What’s your favourite food?
Fish
What do you like best about Richmond?
Dining in Richmond is an endless adventure to explore the incredible array of international cuisines.
If Richmond was a celebrity, who would it be?
Celine Dion
What’s your favourite sports team?
Canucks
What’s the best farm produce from Richmond?
Blueberries
Best place to take an out-of-town guest?
Kirin Seafood Restaurant
What other city would you compare Richmond to?
Vancouver
Along with these profiles, more than 6,000 people ranked companies in four categories: Food & Entertainment, Shopping, Services and Health & Fitness this year. This week, we will share the winners of one category each day. Today, it’s Shopping, which can be found here.
See the full, digital version of our special Best of Richmond edition here.
