If there was a job to do, Johnny Phare was the kind of guy who got it done.
The Roberts Creek logger never thought he was doing anything out of the ordinary.
“This word ‘hero’ is something that’s been used, and I know he would really feel uncomfortable with that,” his fiancée, Kimi Hawkes, said Tuesday.
“I don’t think he thought of himself as a hero. He thought of himself as a person who was part of the community and did what had to get done.”
So when the Old Sechelt Mine wildfire threatened residents of the Sunshine Coast this summer, Phare was there to help fight the blaze. A father of three, he was falling trees when one of them struck and killed him on July 5. He was 60.
Premier Christy Clark paid tribute to Phare’s sacrifice Tuesday by making him the first recipient of a new Medal of Good Citizenship.
Hawkes accepted the posthumous honour on Phare’s behalf at a ceremony on the steps of the B.C. legislature.
“Today, we remember that John Phare was not just a firefighter working for the benefit of all British Columbians,” Clark said. “He was not just a tree faller who earned his living in the woods. He was a father and John was engaged to be married.
“All of us, when we think about that, would think about how painful it must be to lose your fiancé or your father. But in John Phare’s case, everyone who loved him is also, I know, deeply proud of what he accomplished — what he sacrificed on our behalf.”
Hawkes said it was a “special honour” to accept the award for Phare.
“It’s important to remember John and this feels like a really important way to do that,” she said.
NDP MLA Nicholas Simons, who represents Powell River-Sunshine Coast, said Phare was loved by the community where he had a long career in the logging industry and passed his knowledge along to younger workers.
“Everybody knew him,” Simons said. “I think it’s a nice honour for Kimi to have the first Medal of Good Citizenship.
“I think, in a way, it reflects the feeling that the community had towards him.”
The Medal of Good Citizenship recognizes people who have acted in a generous, kind or “selfless manner for the common good without expectation of reward.”
The first round of nominations closed Oct. 2 with more than 190 people recommended for the award.
A selection committee, chaired by Jobs Minister Shirley Bond, will review the nominations and further recipients will be announced this year.
