The annual Best of Richmond features individuals who live and/ or work in Richmond to help make it one of the best communities in which to live. This year the Richmond News interviewed 10:
Tung Chan has been a Richmond resident since 1984. He served as the Chair of the Richmond Library Trustee Board from 2002-2004. From 1990 to 1993, Tung was a Councillor of the City of Vancouver while maintaining his residency in Richmond. Before joining SUCCESS as its CEO in 2006, Tung was TD Bank's District VP in charge of all TD Branches in Richmond, Ladner & Tsawwassen.
Tung Chan has a long history of community involvement. Currently, he is a member of the Canadian Red Cross B.C. and Yukon Provincial Advisory Committee, BC Community Care and Community Living Appeal Board and an honorary board member of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education.
He is also a retired Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy, and the former chair of the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 1 in Halifax, NS from 2012 to 2017.
In recognition of his community contributions and leadership, Tung was awarded the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2002 and 2012, an honorary Doctorate in Law from University Canada West in 2013, and inducted into the Order of British Columbia by the Honourable Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia in 2014. In his leisure time, Tung enjoys reading and travelling.
What do you like best about Richmond?
The best thing I like about Richmond is its people. We have one of the highest life expectancy in Canada and yet our people are full of youth and vitality.
How do you stay healthy in Richmond?
There are plenty of parks, dikes, and community centres where people can go to walk, run, or swim.
What’s our favourite area of nature in Richmond?
My favourite area of nature is a conservation area near River Road and Cambie Road. This 55 acres land included a 15 acre parcel sold to the City at below market some years ago and it was supposed to be named after the civic minded former owner’s family patriarch Mr. Sun Hor Lum.
What song best describes Richmond?
This may not be the song that best describes Richmond but it is one that I hope we will become. The song is “Imagine” by John Lennon. Its lyrics describe a utopian place where people live together in peace without barriers imposed by religion, possession or country. Richmond is a diverse city and our No. 5 road is famous for all religious places of worship coexisting together peacefully.
Where in Richmond do you like to take out-of-town guest?
Steveston village is, of course, the best place in Richmond to take out-of-town guests.
What is one of Richmond’s hidden gems?
The perogies and borscht available at the Ukrainian Community Society of Ivan Franko on Francis Road. The other hidden gem is the Minoru Park that is tucked away on Gilbert Road behind the Gateway Theatre.
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