Jim King wins Good Citizen honour

By Craig MacBride - Surrey North Delta Leader - May 06, 2008

Jim King is the winner of the 2008 Good Citizen Award.

File

Jim King, the outgoing executive director of the Surrey Crime Prevention Society, was awarded the 2008 Good Citizen Award Monday night at the city's annual Volunteer Recognition Banquet.

King, 59, has served as executive director since 1997. He's also a past-president of the Surrey Chamber of Commerce and a founding member and past director of the Surrey Tourism and Convention Association.

When his name was announced as the winner of the Good Citizen Award, he started crying.

"I was flabbergasted and shocked," said King, who is retiring and leaving Surrey for Osoyoos this month with his partner Cheryle Richardson.

Even though he has won dozens of awards, including the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award in 2002, being named Good Citizen in his city and by his city was a special honour.

"Just being chosen by the mayor and council of a city this big is pretty special in my mind," he said. "It's just up and above the other things."

The award recognizes a Surrey resident who has performed outstanding service for the betterment of the community.

Chris Boulton, the volunteer president of the Surrey Crime Prevention Society (SCPS), has worked with King for seven years and considers him a good choice for the award.

"He's a leader. He's strong. He deals with people well," said Boulton. "He's decisive and he's got a vision for the community that hasn't stopped with the Surrey Crime Prevention Society."

King worked hard to bring in a lot of grants to the SCPS, Boulton added, funding which has allowed the organization to improve street and auto patrols, and graffiti removal programs.

"I think quite a lot of it has to do with Jim," said Boulton. "Had he come in and not taken the role he had taken, it could just as easily have gone the other way."

King was born in Vancouver but has lived in Surrey for the past 30 years. He started his career owning and traveling with carnival game booths before semi-retiring at 42.

That's about the time he started putting in hours in the non-profit sector.

Surrey RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Roger Morrow, who is a SCPS board member, commended King's work in the community.

"Jim's very, very dedicated to safety in the community," he said. "I was very impressed by his organizational skills, yet he's very down to earth and very much a people person."

King has also served as director of the Lower Fraser Valley Exhibition Association and the Surrey-Delta Multicultural Coordinating Committee, and was a member of the Mayor's Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety.

Mayor Dianne Watts said she was honoured to present King with this year's award.

"(He) has a long history of service to the people of Surrey," she said. "His selfless acts of volunteerism have enriched the lives of many."

Mary-Lou McCausland, his administrative assistant, said that many people in the office consider him the best boss they've ever had.

"He's a helper. If he sees something wrong, he's there to help," she said.

King said he learned his managerial style from his predecessor, Peter Maarsman.

"I give them latitude to manage the programs they do without micromanaging them, and I have an open-door policy if they have any concerns or issues, they can definitely come to me and discuss anything," he said.

Leaving the city he has lived in and worked to improve for 30 years isn't easy, said King, but he has great memories to survive on.

"I think there's a lot of people who think very highly of this city, and it should get more accolades than what it does," he said.

Monday's recognition event, held at Eaglequest at Coyote Creek, also honoured the hundreds of city volunteers who work on numerous committees and in the fire service.

cmacbride@surreyleader.com

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Jim King wins Good Citizen honour

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