Still more to celebrate in Kamloops this month!
Garnet Mierau takes on national role as Executive Director of the Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada: A well-deserved appointment to this amazing position which also showcases Kamloops’ position as a centre of excellence in Wildfire research and resilience. Kudos also to Garnet and his team for putting together a national conference in October with TRU Wildfire at TRU. The inaugural WRCC Building Foundational Knowledge (BFK) Gathering (October 8-9, 2025) brought together the grant recipients from the BFK stream of the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative (and others) to help lay the groundwork for stronger collaboration, deeper knowledge, and collective action to advance wildfire resilience nationally and internationally.
Sairung Senger’s Kamloops Thai Massage celebrates 10 years in business: Such a great milestone Sairung! Thank you for your amazing customer service and for employing 15 people currently. Special shoutout for your great community service work through Kamloops Aurora Centennial Rotary.
TRU Recognizes Distinguished Alumni: honouring five alumni with 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards for exceptional achievement and service in community leadership, arts and culture, public service and professional excellence.
Robert Atwood, BNRS ’15 and Richard Sullivan
Distinguished Alumni | Service to Community
Former BC Wildfire Service firefighters Atwood and Sullivan co-founded Hummingbird Drones. The company was the first unmanned aircraft system provider in North America to support wildfire suppression and has since grown into a leader in drone analytics and emergency response. Through their software subsidiary, Nova, their technology helps map fire perimeters, identify heat sources and assist search-and-rescue teams.
Andrew G. Cooper, BA ’14
Distinguished Alumni | Arts and Culture
Cooper is an award-winning theatre creator, filmmaker and producer. After graduating from TRU, they founded Chimera Theatre in Kamloops and later Jupiter Theatre in Calgary, where they now serve as artistic producers. Cooper’s interdisciplinary work spans theatre, puppetry, and film, including collaborations with The Jim Henson Company and Alberta Theatre Projects.
Dr. Mandy Manak, Medical Lab Technology Dip ’93; BSc ’02
Distinguished Alumni | Public Service
Dr. Manak is a Kamloops-based physician specializing in addiction medicine and psychotherapy, with a focus on chronic pain and dual-diagnosis care. She is medical director of the Interior Chemical Dependency Office, a consulting physician at Royal Inland Hospital and chief medical officer for A New Tomorrow Treatment Solutions.
Monica Sophia McAlduff, BHSc ’05
Distinguished Alumni | Professional Achievement
McAlduff, CEO of the First Nations Health Authority, has over 30 years of experience in Indigenous and psychiatric health care. A member of the Adams Lake Indian Band with Secwépemc and French-Canadian roots, she is recognized for advancing culturally safe, patient-centered systems of care. McAlduff was TRU Open Learning’s first valedictorian.
Another successful Teddy Bear Toss is in the books: On Dec. 5, Kamloops Blazers fans donated 2,065 stuffies for local children and patients at Royal Inland Hospital. What began here in 1993 as Don Larsen’s incredible inspiring idea has now become a global sporting tradition, providing millions of toys to children around the world.
Another substantial donation from CanadaOne Auto and the Priestner Family supporting youth mental health at Royal Inland Hospital: CanadaOne Auto (COA), Kamloops Honda, and the Priestner Family are proud to announce a $100,000 donation to the Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) Foundation in support of the Parkview Program, which provides vital mental health services to youth in Kamloops and surrounding communities.
“Supporting youth mental health is one of the most important investments we can make,” said Mr. Priestner. “The world our young people are growing up in today is increasingly complex, and it’s essential they have access to the resources and care they need to thrive. We believe it takes a village to raise a child, and we are proud to be part of that village here in Kamloops.”
Huge Kamloops Welcome to Dan Steenburgh, the new ED of Interior Community Services: Dan brings over 25 years of experience in the community social services sector, with a career that has taken him from frontline support roles to program management and executive leadership. His deep understanding of community needs, along with his commitment to person-centred, strengths-based support, makes him an incredible fit to lead ICS into its next chapter.
Kamloops is an amazing community with a long-standing culture of kindness and looking out for one another. We need to talk about this more, give it more attention, and keep strengthening our collective goodness. We, at the Kamloops Chronicle, feel it’s so important to share good news regularly and that’s what this space is about. We encourage you to submit your good news by calling 250 851-9630, emailing us at [email protected] or sending us mail to PO Box 814, Station Main, Kamloops BC, V2C 5M8.