Character Abbotsford Announces Board of Directors for 2023/2024
Left to right: Julius Siebenga, Jory Smallenberg, Bev Olfert, Shirley Wilson, Sir James Barlow, Vijay Manuel
Not pictured: Shelly Avram, Wendy Neufeld
Character Abbotsford has elected a new board for the 2023/2024 year. Returning board members are Shelly Avram, Sir James Barlow, Vijay Manuel, Wendy Neufeld, Bev Olfert, Julius Siebenga, and Jory Smallenberg. Police Chief Mike Serr will retire this fall and has stepped down from the board. Long serving Abbotsford public servant, Shirley Wilson, joins the leadership group as a Director. Wilson was one of the original visionaries for the movement as early as 2009 and is happy to formally join the team. Siebenga will step into the role of Treasurer and Olfert will take on Secretary. The Vice Chair role on the Executive Team has been filled by Smallenberg who will work closely with returning chair, Vijay Manuel.
Manuel believes that this will be a significant year of building the movement following a sold-out conference in fall of 2022 focussed on Homelessness. The council plans to host three events that will be open to the public: A Speaker Event on November 16th, 2023 that will feature Police Chief Mike Serr, a visit to the Peace and Reconciliation Centre at UFV on January 11th, 2024, and the Character In Action Awards Presentations on May 9th, 2024. The public will also be invited to nominate an unsung hero to be recognized at the event. Nomination forms can be found at CharacterAbbotsford.com/get-involved.
“We live in the most giving community in Canada that is filled with a diversity of people that are committed to living out values like respect, responsibility, integrity, empathy, courage, and service,” Manuel said. He went on to explain how he knows this to be true: “Because I’ve grown up here and experienced it first hand. We are a community of character! Abbotsford is filled with people who are hard working, fun-loving, compassionate, and thoughtful to the needs of others. It’s the best place to live, work, do business, and raise a family." According to Manuel, the council believes that the key to an even stronger and better Abbotsford comes in the little decisions made daily by individuals and organizations: “It’s the smart heart-centred choices and actions that make all the difference.”
The Character Council is passionate about Inspiring character, Engaging and Enabling leaders, and Influencing community towards living out character-rich values in their day-to-day lives.
For more information, visit CharacterAbbotsford.com