A Bowen Islander who’s known as much for his generosity as his business prowess, David Podmore has been singled out for two prestigious awards from the Vancouver Board of Trade.
Podmore is the recipient of the 2016 Rix Award for Engaged Community Citizenship and Fortis BC, of which he is chairman and CEO, won the 2016 Rix Award for Engaged Corporate Citizenship.
“He’s the most down-to-earth person you’ve ever met,” says Podmore’s Eaglecliff friend and neighbour, Murray Atherton. “He is very caring and he has a wonderful family who are so caring, all of them.”
As a prominent and influential Vancouver entrepreneur, Atherton says that Podmore “was lucky to learn under Jack Poole [his co-founder of Concert Properties] and he just keeps on giving.” The Vancouver Board of Trade says Podmore is “widely recognized as one of the most influential contributors to Greater Vancouver’s real estate industry.”
Podmore is being honoured “based on his tireless efforts to give back to the community both professionally and personally.
“This includes his past leadership of the BC Pavilion Corporation, his key role in helping to bring the 2010 Olympics to Vancouver and his service as chair of the British Columbia Institute of Technology Foundation, president of the Urban Development Institute)Pacific region), president of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association, member of the BC Progress Board, chair of the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, and eight years as a director of the Canadian Tourism Commission.”
In September 2014, Podmore was joined by fellow Bowen Islander Oscar Knowles-Dekkers in turning the sod for the new BC Burn Centre. Oscar, who had attended the Burn Centre’s summer camps, had raised $4,300 for the new centre and Podmore is the chair of centre’s fundraising campaign. The Jack and Darlene Poole Foundation also donated $2.5 million for an endowment fund to help burn survivors and their families.
Podmore was invested with the Order of BC in 2014.
The Fortis BC demonstrates “a deep commitment to collaborating with stakeholders, Aboriginal communities and other organizations to improve the wellbeing of the communities they serve.”
The black-tie awards ceremony will be April 11 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
