Dennis Walker, a prominent local media personality, was named Cranbrook’s Citizen of the Year on Wednesday.
Walker, a radio broadcaster with 2day FM, was honoured by the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce, which recognized his tireless work ethic and community coverage.
“This is an exceptional award for an extraordinary citizen,” said Chamber President Christine Hoechsmann. “If you look at the past recipients, it is a who’s who of what makes Cranbrook a great place to live, work and play and we are pleased to add Dennis’ name to the list.”
Walker can be found out and about in the community on most days — rain or shine — covering events or chasing daily news and providing updates to the community.
According to one of his award nominators, “I have never met anyone who cares about their community like Dennis Walker — he works seven days a week not because he has to, but because he believes the community needs to know what is going on.”
Walker will be honoured in the new year at the Citizen of the Year gala on Jan. 28th at the Heritage Inn and Convention Centre.
Past Citizen of the Year recipients include: 1973 – Veronica Main 1974 – Edna Gilmour 1975 – Rick Spooner 1976 – Joyce Metcalfe 1977 – Grace McNeil 1978 – Robert Sheffield 1979 – Alex Demchuk 1980 – Yvonne Skrepnechuk 1981 – Laura Proctor 1982 – Murray Wheaton 1983 – Mike Moore 1984 – Hank Mayberry 1985 – Sam Barrett 1986 – George Georgopoulos 1987 – Bud & Maxine Caldwell 1988 – Don Rogers 1989 – Stephen & Marlene Hudock 1990 – Rick Jensen 1991 – David Stephanuk 1992 – Bud Abbott 1993 – Susan Tadey 1994 – Garry Anderson 1995 – Marvin “Skip” Fennessy 1996 – Gordon, Josephine, Dorothy & Nancy Van Ochten 1997 – Cheryl McNab 1998 – Wilf Molnar 1999 – Mike & Cathy Patterson 2000 – Gordon Murphy 2001 – Pamela Spiers 2002 – Paul Kershaw 2003 – Loree Duczek 2004 – Allan & Dorial Davis 2005 – Nella Rounsville 2006 – Frank Sandor 2007 – Gary Lancaster 2008 – Dr. Arnold Lowden 2009 – Rod Osiowy 2010 – Art Gruenig 2011 – Chris Ayling 2012 – Jason Wheeldon 2013 – Ken Bridge 2014 – Derek Kortschaga 2015 — Frank Vanden Broek 2016 — Karin Penner 2017 Mike Adams 2018 — Ann and Jim Wavrecan 2019 — Heidi Romich 2020 —