Strong community supporter Rick Cooney is being recognized for his contributions to Community Futures of the Sunshine Coast with the annual Volunteer of the Year award.
A resident of the Coast for the past 17 years, Cooney has been part of Community Futures since 1998. During that time he's held many positions on the board including director, member and chair of the loans committee and first vice-chair. Presently he is treasurer.
Cooney's day work dovetails nicely with his volunteer work for Community Futures. As chief credit officer for the Sunshine Coast Credit Union, he's been able to forge a great relationship with Community Futures and partnerships on deals for financing are not uncommon between the two organizations.
Cooney also volunteers for the Festival of the Written Arts. He took on the position of treasurer shortly after arriving on the Coast and continues in this capacity today. During Cooney's time with the Festival, it has grown to be one of the biggest Canadian-only event of its kind in the country.
He is married to Wendy and, together with their two daughters, the Cooneys farm on seven acres in Sechelt. He jokes that the eggs from their 60 chickens are his entrepreneurial venture.
Thanks to his passion for running marathons, Cooney is fit as a fiddle. He's run four of the big five marathons (Boston, New York, Chicago and Berlin). Only London is left to conquer. He runs approximately 12 marathons per year.
Both Sharon Anderchek, general manager of Community Futures, and Barrie Wilbee, chair of the board, are thrilled with the selection of Cooney. They look forward to many more years working with this hardworking volunteer.
