During the University of Northern B.C. 2015 Alumni Awards, UNBC alumni Ray Noonan and Matthew Thomson will be presented with Distinguished Alumni Awards.
Community members Mary Kordyban and Dr. Todd Whitcombe will receive honorary UNBC alumni designation during the 2015 Alumni Awards reception on May 28.
Noonan gets the Community Service Award and Thomson gets the Professional Excellence Award.
"Ray Noonan and Matthew Thomson are superb examples of how UNBC alumni are leaders in the community," said Dr. Daniel Weeks, UNBC president. "I also congratulate Mary Kordyban and Todd Whitcombe on being named honorary members of the Alumni Association and thank them for their engagement in community work and ongoing support of UNBC."
Since 1997 21 honorary members have been named to the Alumni Association while the first Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented in 2012.
"Each year the Alumni Association of UNBC is fortunate to recognize the amazing contributions that graduates and supporters of the University make in Northern BC, across the province, and around the world," said Andrew Seabrook, Alumni Association of UNBC president. "The 2015 award winners and honorary alumni join an illustrious group who are accomplishing great things."
Noonan is a nine-year member on the board of directors for the Prince George Community foundation, has volunteered as a coach and leader in youth sport with the College Heights Community Association, and served many terms as director of the Northern BC Scotiabankers Staff Association.
Thomson is a Prince George secondary school teacher who developed an Outdoor Recreation course for senior students that features winter camping and white water rafting. He coaches rugby, and soccer and serves as president of the North Central District Schools Athletic Association, and is a five-year board of directors member of BC School Sports. While teaching Information Technology, Thomson brings students to the university for a day to showcase the campus, take part in lectures and highlights Computer Science as an option for post secondary study.
Kordyban is the founder of the Mary Kordyban Foundation and provides support to many projects in northern B.C. Kordyban started the William Wilfred Kordyban Memorial Award for Cancer Service at the university, which is worth $2,700 and is presented to a nursing student who is involved with the Kordyban Lodge or demonstrates community involvement in a health-related area.
The Canadian Cancer Societys Kordyban Lodge in Prince George bears the family name thanks to a $2 million donation the Mary Kordyban Foundation made to the project to provide a home away from home for patients at the BC Cancer Agency Centre for the North.
Whitcombe has been an enthusiastic advocate for UNBC and post-secondary education since he started working at the university in 1994. He has established three awards to support students every year. Whitcombe has written more than 800 newspaper columns and made 300 radio appearances and is one of the producers of a children's game show on a local television station called QuizMe.
Dr. Whitcombe is now an associate professor, a UNBC Senate faculty representative, and is chair of the chemistry, environmental science, and environmental engineering program.
