The Chilliwack Chiefs are proud to once again be presenting our annual Matthew Hutchinson Memorial Awards this coming Saturday, during our First Responders Night, presented by Joint Force Tactical.
Awards will be presented by members of the Hutchinson family.
Hutchinson, a volunteer firefighter, and former Chilliwack Chief died tragically in 2016. Since then, the Chiefs have honoured his life and commitment to service by partnering with local first responders to celebrate their own each year.
Award recipients were each nominated by their peers for demonstrating excellence in their field and exceptional community service. This season’s recipients include members of the Chilliwack Fire Department, Ambulance Paramedics of BC, BC Corrections, Search and Rescue, RCMP, and Chilliwack General Hospital.
Captain Jake Toews – Chilliwack Fire Department
Captain Jake Toews has been a Fire Fighter with the City of Chilliwack for 31 Years. He has held the role of Health and Safety Captain for Yarrow Hall #3 for the last 17 years. Year after year he continues to exceed with an average of 80% attendance to fire calls and 90% attendance in fire practices.
Captain Toews is set to retire in March.
Steve Lovestead – Ambulance Paramedics of BC
Steve served as a paramedic with the BC Ambulance Service and as a member of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC since 1998. During those years he gave back to the profession by being an instructor with the Learning/Education Branch, an emergency driver evaluator, and a paramedic clinical preceptor for paramedic students. Despite retiring in 2019, Steve has continued to volunteer in the community and serve as part of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC Ceremonial Unit across the province and country – representing the paramedic profession, serving with pride and honour.
Frank Van Nynatten – Chilliwack Search and Rescue
Frank has been a valuable member of Chilliwack Search & Rescue for over 27 years. He is on the Swiftwater, Rope Rescue, Avalanche Rescue team, and a Ground Search Team Leader. Frank is the Fraser Valley Regional Director for BCSARA, City of Chilliwack fleet liaison, and has organized many community events supporting Chilliwack Search & Rescue. He has given countless hours to his team and the community of Chilliwack.
Jack Wilfert – BC Corrections
Jack’s career with BC Corrections has spanned over 45 years allowing him to work at 6 different locations. Along the way, he has helped many of those incarcerated with his patience and respectful style of interacting. Jack’s work ethic is second to none and he is highly respected and liked by all his peers.
Ryan Carlson – Chilliwack General Hospital
Ryan Carlson has been a healthcare assistant with Fraser Health since 2013. He has worked at Chilliwack General Hospital since 2017 in a variety of different in-patient units. Most recently, he has served in the emergency department. Ryan is an extremely hard-working team player that promotes kindness and quality care for his patients. He is well respected by his peers and is considered a leader in the emergency department.
Constable Jenna Moore – RCMP
Cst. Moore is a Member of the Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment, and works out of the Agassiz Community Police Office. Constable Moore has gone above and beyond – organizing and coordinating the Annual RCMP Stuff The Cruiser and the Candy Cane Checkstop. Events that help support the local food bank and promotes the reduction of Impaired Driving in the community during the holiday season.
Cst. Moore has also been very active in the local schools doing school talks and has organized several interactive tours of the detachment. As a rider in the 2022 Cops For Cancer Tour, she raised over $6500 to support cancer-fighting research for kids.
Come out and celebrate all of our amazing First Responders in our community. Click here to purchase tickets.
