A large group of local residents received Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals at city hall last Tuesday.

Burnaby-Douglas MP Kennedy Stewart presented the awards in council chambers.

There were thirty recipients in all, with some very well known names on the list.

British Empire Games runner Barbara Howard, who is turning 93 this year and was previously profiled in the Burnaby NOW, was one of the recipients.

Comedian Ardell Brophy-Fitzpatrick, founder of the Laff Riot Girls comedy troupe in New Westminster, is very active in the Burnaby and New Westminster communities. She was honoured with an award at the ceremony, as was former Burnaby School Board chair Larry Hayes, who was replaced last month after serving as chair for the past two years.

Burnaby Coun. Pietro Calendino also received an award. His colleague, Coun. Paul McDonell was also awarded one, by Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan.

Many of the other names have graced the pages of the Burnaby NOW in the past, including Pritam Bains, manager of Blue Bells Family Childcare; Ray and Roxy Abernathy, both prominently involved in community and sports initiatives and groups; and Kalpna Solanki, a small business owner in Burnaby.

Frank and Yvonne Slyman, Philip Stigger, Charnjit Bal, Janey Lee, Jai Kim, Gene Chan, Pauline Mudtakoff, Kei Esmaeilpour, Peter Dickson-Starkey, James Kamau, Erik Searight, Lucette Ryan, Siavash Tahan, Michael Lawrence MacDonald, Gary Pawson, Marjorie Cohen, Jaimi Sinclair, Andy Lai, Bob Stewart, Rhonda Ghebara and Leslie Deane also received medals at the ceremony.

The Jubilee medals, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne, are being awarded to 60,000 Canadians who have made contributions to their communities, regions, provinces or territories.