Months of planting, pruning and prepping paid off for the Town of Gibsons last weekend in Prince George.
Gibsons was a recipient of a provincial Commu-nities in Bloom (CIB) floral display award, presented at the annual CIB awards ceremony.
The Town of Gibsons was judged based on their efforts in management planning, maintenance, improvement and innovation in the criteria of tidiness, environmental awareness, community involvement, natural and cultural heritage conservation, tree/urban forest management, landscaped areas, floral displays and turf and groundcovers.
Gibsons was awarded a score of 778.5 out of 1,000, which equates to four blooms. Gibsons was only four points short of competing on a national level, which they will be aiming for next year.
Wendy Gilbertson, dir-ector of parks and aquatics for the Town, and Lisa Simard from the Gibsons CIB committee accepted an honourable mention and the award. The honourable mention was for partnering with a corporation in the beautification of the municipality.
The high point of the evening came at the very end of the ceremonies, when it was announced that Gibsons had won the overall provincial award for its floral displays.
Gilbertson and Simard were honoured to accept the award and acknowledged the many dedicated individuals, groups and organizations that worked tirelessly for the benefit and success of Gibsons.
"I am absolutely thrilled, and so proud of how a small group of dedicated parks staff, Gibsons council, the CIB committee and volunteers and the community around Gibsons worked tirelessly to achieve this award. They are all to be congratulated on their success," Gilbertson said. "During the ceremony, we received our evaluation and honourable mention, and I was very pleased with the results. During the ceremony, a slide presentation of the contestants was running off to one side, and in viewing the larger, bigger budget communities' displays, I thought we were out of the running. But I was very satisfied with what we had accomplished."The grand finale was the overall award for floral displays. When they announced that the award goes to Gibsons, I nearly fell out of my chair. As I was pulling myself back up I had to laugh because the look of disbelief on Lisa's face was priceless. I do not know how the two of us managed to get up on the podium to accept it - we were both so stunned."
The judges commented that they wished to thank one of the most dedicated CIB committees they have ever worked with. Congratulations were extended to the community of Gibsons for their official community SMART plan and their World's Best Water designation. The judges commented that Frank-lin Road is a project worth showcasing in the National CIB Showcase magazine.
Judges Suzanne Ander-ton and Karen Hong said, "The first view of the Town from the lower entrance is one of the prettiest we have ever seen. The Town is alive with colour and creation - floral elements and landscaping features are exceptional and the impact can easily be described as wow! The display is largely a credit to individuals, diligent and hard-working parks' staff and corporate co-operation all working together."
The Honourable Iona Campagnolo, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, officiated at the CIB opening ceremonies, which were attended by Ted Blowes, the national chairman and international judge for CIB. Horticulturist Brian Minter also made a special appearance.
"We're very proud of what our communities have done to get this award," said acting mayor Coun. Bob Curry. "Gibsons looks great. Thanks to all the volunteers both in and outside the Town. They couldn't have gotten as far as they did without support from the parks' staff. We're just all thrilled and we're going to try damn hard to move it up a notch next year and compete at the national level."
