The 2011 winner of the H.D. Stafford good citizen of the year award is Terry Metcalfe.
He is the second retired fire chief to win the award in recent years. Metcalfe is a retired Township fire chief, and retired City chief Jim McGregor won the award in 2006.
Terry Metcalfe was born and raised in the Township of Langley, where he also worked for many years. During a 14-year career teaching in Langley School District, he began his volunteer work with the Navy cadets. His focus with the cadets was working with youth to challenge them to develop into disciplined young people.
During this period, Metcalfe accepted the opportunity to become a paid on call firefighter in the Township. He moved through the ranks to the training division and later became assistant chief of operations. In 2002, he was promoted to fire chief. His commitment to the fire service in the Township is a tribute to a man with tremendous organizational, leadership and personnel skills.
He has been very involved in many community activities. Since retiring in 2004, he has continued to dedicate his time, expertise and passion to his community.
He served as chair of the Langley Care Foundation, which operates Langley Lodge, while it underwent a major renovation and fundraising campaign. He continues to be involved with the Navy Cadets, and is also an active volunteer with the Langley Animal Protection Society and the Rotary Club of Aldergrove, and is a member of the board of the Aldergrove Credit Union.
He continues to work to make the community a better place. His strong commitment, work ethic and high level of integrity are a measuring stick for others.
The H.D. Stafford Award was given out at Tuesday’s Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce meeting, attended by about 300 people. The award is named for the late Harold Stafford, who served as Langley’s superintendent of schools and was an active member of the community.
Several former Stafford award winners were on hand at the event, including McGregor and Eric Bysouth (1993); Sylvia Anderson (1994); Joan Chesney (2000); Dale Ball (2002); Tim Lounsbury (2004) and David Esworthy (2008).