Terrace’s Nirmal Parmar is one of 25 people in the province to receive a 2021 BC Achievement Foundation Community Award for his commitment to the community.
Parmar first came to Terrace from India in 1969 and has served as a board member or trustee for a multitude of local organizations, including the Kermode Friendship Society, Terrace Public Library, Northern Saving Credit Union, Terrace Co-operative Association, Terrace and Area Health Council, Scouts Canada and Vanderhoof and Districts Co-operative Association, now called the Four Rivers Co-op and a successor in this area to the Terrace Co-operative Association.
He volunteered with the Thornhill Fire Department early after arriving in the northwest and was part of the formation of the Terrace and District Multicultural Association (TDMA), which became a registered society in 1983.
As part of his role with the Terrace and District Multicultural Association, Parmar assisted with the annual Canadian Citizenship Awards Ceremony, which is held from time to time in Terrace. He was the TDMA’s representative on the provincial board of the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of BC.
In 2000, Nirmal helped organize a community group which would address the issue of institutional racism in the workplace and schools. This resulted in the creation of the Skeena Diversity Multiculturalism project which later because the Skeena Diversity Society.
Parmar was awarded the Order of Terrace in 2016.
Winners of the BC Achievement Foundation Community Award are selected by an independent committee. This year, the committee consisted of Mayor of Prince Rupert Lee Brain, Mayor of Duncan Michelle Staples and past winners Aisha Amijee, Aart Schuurman Hess and Andy Yu. Each recipient of the award will receive a certificate and a medallion designed by B.C. artist Robert Davidson.