In honour of the contributions he has made to the Cariboo-Chilcotin, Cariboo Regional District chair Al Richmond was presented with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal during a special presentation by Quesnel mayor and CRD director Mary Sjostrom on Feb. 28.
“I am honoured and humbled to be presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal,” said Richmond.
“It is a privilege to serve the residents of Electoral Area G and the regional district. It is a role I take very seriously and am dedicated to making sure the voice of our residents is heard by senior levels of government.”
Said Sjostrom: “I congratulate chair Richmond on this prestigious, well-deserved award. Al is an elected official who represents not only his community and the region, but who also contributes to many aspects of local government across the province through his work with the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM).
“He is also an exceptional community volunteer who devotes his time to a number of causes. I am very proud to be able to present him with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on behalf of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.”
Richmond was first elected to the CRD in 1993. He has served for six consecutive three-year terms, representing Electoral Area G in the South Cariboo.
In 2011, he was re-elected to the board of directors and is currently serving his fourth term as the CRD chair. Before being elected as the chair by his peers, he served as the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District chair from 1999 to January 2009, prior to which he served three years as vice-chair.
In 2012, Richmond was elected as the UBCM third vice-president during its convention. He was first elected to the UBCM executive in 2008 as the Electoral Area representative.
In 2011, he was appointed as a Member at Large to UBCM’s Presidents Committee as a result of the 2011 local elections, which left the position of third vice-president vacant.
During his tenure with UBCM he has served in a number of capacities including:
• UBCM Healthy Communities Committee chair;
• Emergency Medical Assistance Education Fund chair;
• UBCM Small Water Systems Working Group chair;
• UBCM Regional Hospital Cost Share Review Committee chair;
• UBCM Environment Committee member; and
• UBCM representative on the Fire Chiefs’ Association of BC board of directors.
Since 2003, Richmond has represented the CRD as a member of the Municipal Finance Authority and was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2009 and 2012.
