News release: GVBOT announces recipients of the 2019 Rix Awards

November 15, 2018

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For Immediate Release
Nov. 14, 2018

VANCOUVER, B.C.— The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade will pay tribute to Robert and Lily Lee next spring, presenting the couple with its prestigious Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship in recognition of their many philanthropic endeavours and decades of community service.

In addition, the Board of Trade will present its Rix Award for Engaged Corporate Citizenship to Ledcor, an iconic British Columbian company and leader in community giving, which has donated over $20 million to various local charities over the last 10 years.

The 2019 awards will be presented at the 32nd Annual Governors' Banquet on May 27 at Parq Vancouver. The annual black-tie gala brings together business, government, and community leaders to induct the Board of Trade's immediate past chair into its Council of Governors. The 2019 inductee is Anne Giardini, O.C., O.B.C., Q.C., who currently serves as Chancellor of Simon Fraser University.

Learn more about this year's event at boardoftrade.com/governorsbanquet2019.

2019 Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship — Robert and Lily Lee

Esteemed philanthropists, and beloved community leaders Robert (Bob) and Lily Lee have dedicated much of their time, expertise, and resources to building a brighter future for British Columbians and Canadians.

Over the years, Bob and Lily have contributed significantly to the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia — and have touched the lives of many. They have set the bar for community involvement through tireless commitment to many organizations, including the Robert Lee YMCA, the Robert & Lily Lee Family Community Health Centre, and the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation.

In 2017, Bob became the honorary Chair of the YMCA's "What Really Matters" $140-million capital campaign to serve 200,000 more people by creating four new centres of community in Surrey, Vancouver, Coquitlam, and Chilliwack. Bob is past director of many companies, the most notable being Wall Financial Corporation, B.C. Telephone Co. (TELUS), Crown Life Insurance Corp., and CN Railway.

Bob's community service has been recognized on many occasions. He has received the Order of Canada (1999) and the Order of British Columbia (1990), an Honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1996 from UBC, and numerous awards over the years from a variety of organizations. In 2008 he received the Pacific Lifetime Achievement Award from Ernst & Young, and in 2010 was inducted into the Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame.

Bob has been extremely devoted to the service of his alma mater starting at the board level since 1984 when he began serving two terms on the UBC Board of Governors from 1984 to 1990. He was then elected chancellor in 1993. He was also chair of the UBC Foundation, and honorary chair of UBC's start an evolution campaign which raised more than $1.6 billion and engaged 130,000 alumni in support of transformative education, groundbreaking research, and community education. UBC awarded Bob an honorary doctorate degree in 1996 and in 2006 UBC established the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at the Sauder School of Business in recognition of Bob and Lily's generous gift to support graduate business education. In 2015, the university opened the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre in their honour.

Perhaps the greatest of Bob's many contributions to UBC, and the one of which he is most proud, is the creation of UBC Properties Trust, which he founded in 1988 and where he served as chair for 23 years. The trust was the first in North America to sell market housing on a university campus on leased land, allowing UBC to maintain ownership of the land while earning the university over $1.35 billion to date ($350 million in appraisal surplus on rental properties), and a projected $3 billion in perpetuity.

Bob's vision has inspired similar projects at universities, making this one of the single most influential ideas for bolstering education funding in recent history.

 

2019 Rix Award for Engaged Corporate Citizenship — Ledcor

Ledcor was chosen as this year's Rix Award for Engaged Corporate Citizenship recipient in recognition of the company's customer focus, outreach, environmental initiatives, and internal work culture.

First founded in Edmonton, Alberta in 1947, Ledcor has called British Columbia home for more than three decades, since moving its headquarters to Vancouver in 1986. The company's primary lines of business include construction (civil, building, telecom, energy), transportation (aviation, marine, trucking), resources (forestry, biomass, mining operations), and property development.

Today, the company employs 3,500 staff along with 2,000 to 4,000 trade employees, depending on projects underway at the time. While 80 per cent of its employees are in B.C. and Alberta, the company now has a presence across North America, with offices in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Seattle, Austin, and San Diego.

Lecor strives to ensure superior customer service is provided as a matter of course. The strength of the company's customer service is exemplified by the length of the company's customer relationships. For example, Imperial Oil (Exxon Mobil) has been a client since the 1940s, while Ledcor has built or renovated more than 400 Costco stores across Canada and the U.S. in the last 25 years.

Ledcor is a leader in community giving and with its employees it has donated over $20 million to various local charities over the last 10 years. In B.C., Ledcor donated $5 million toward the Ledcor Emergency Department at the Teck Acute Care Centre (BC Children's Hospital). Ledcor and its employees also donate about $90,000 to each of BC Children's Hospital and Canuck Place children's hospice every year.

Projects build by Ledcor have won numerous Vancouver Regional Construction Association Gold and Silver Awards. In addition, one Ledcor-built project (Marine Gateway, Vancouver) and one Ledcor co-built project‎ (Don Lands Redevelopment, Toronto) each won a prestigious global ULI award last year. These are two of only three Canadian projects that have won in the last 8 years.

Ledcor aims to take responsibility for impact business has on the world and is a leader in LEED construction in Canada. The company also build Canada's first Living Buildings — the Van Dusen Gardens‎ and SFU Daycare — and Canada's first GreenRoads Certified Highway — the South Fraser Perimeter Road.

"It was the right decision for Ledcor to set-up a new head office in Vancouver ‎in the 80s," says Dave Lede, Chairman and CEO of Ledcor. "We wanted to grow beyond our deep Alberta roots, and the British Columbia construction market fit the bill. You have to take calculated risks to grow, and Vancouver was the right place for Ledcor to transform itself into a national construction company.

"Now, after 70 years in business, Ledcor is firmly established in both provinces and active across Canada and in the US in all forms of construction. Along the way, we added property development, forestry and transportation to diversify our business mix," adds Lede.

"For Ledcor, Vancouver has been a good place to run a continental enterprise. The Western Canadian economy has been solid for many decades and the transportation infrastructure and links are first class. The local business community is patient and resilient and thinks globally."

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade's 32nd annual Governors' Banquet and Rix Awards takes place on May 27, 2019, at Parq Vancouver. Learn more at boardoftrade.com/governorsbanquet2019.

 

About the Rix Awards

The Rix Awards are an initiative of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, presented in honour of the late Dr. Don Rix, who served as Chair of the organization in 2008-09. Award recipients are chosen each year by a special selection committee of the board of directors, based on a number of criteria.

The Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship is presented to an individual who applies his or her exceptional skills, talents, and drive to making a positive impact in society. Hallmark characteristics of community citizenship include trust, purpose, connectedness, leadership, social capital, passion, empathy, ethics, and responsibility.

Past recipients include:

  • Gordon and Leslie Diamond (2018)
  • Yoshiko Karasawa and Michael Audain (2017)
  • David Podmore (2016)
  • Carole Taylor (2015)
  • David McLean (2014)
  • Terence Hui (2103)
  • Peter M. Brown (2012)
  • Brandt C. Louie (2011)
  • Jimmy Pattison (2010)
  • Craig and Marc Kielburger (2009)

The Rix Award for Engaged Corporate Citizenship is presented to an enterprise that demonstrates, both in policy and practice, the highest standards of stewardship towards the long-term well-being of customers, employees, owners, partners, the environment, and the broader community.

Past recipients include:

  • Beedie (2018)
  • Whistler Blackcomb (2017)
  • FortisBC (2016)
  • Global BC (2015)
  • Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (2014)
  • TELUS (2013)
  • Teck Resources (2012)
  • Vancity (2011)
  • RBC Royal Bank (2010)
  • Vancouver Airport Authority (2009)

Learn more about the awards at boardoftrade.com/rixawards.

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Media enquiries

Greg Hoekstra
Communications Manager
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
604-640-5450 | media@boardoftrade.com