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Story provided by Chelsea Isenor, Director of Communications and Board Administration

On Monday, June 24, 2024, The Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education celebrated this year’s OWL Award recipients – Annemarie Watts and Brent Buck.

The OWL Award for Excellence in Public Education was started by the Board of Education in 2016 to recognize and honor individuals, groups, and organizations that have enriched and advanced public education through their significant contributions that had system-level impact.

“One of the best parts of the year is when we get to honour individuals with OWL Awards,” shared Board Chair Heather Grieve. “It is my pleasure to present this year's awards to two people who we are excited to recognize, celebrate, and thank for their significant dedication and service to their communities.”

This year, the OWL Award committee had a record number of 14 applications. The nominated recipients have each made significant, system-wide, outstanding contributions to public education in the Kamloops-Thompson School District over a period of five years or more. This year’s two OWL Award recipients have each had a positive impact on the development of students, parents, teachers, staff, and their communities.

For over 25 years, Annemarie Watts has had a local, regional, and provincial impact on students and public education through secondary athletics. Having served as Chair of the 糖心Swag Secondary Athletics Council and Director of British Columbia School Sports (BCSS), Ms. Watts recently received the 2023 BCSS Honour Award, recognizing a lifetime of distinguished service to sports and education.

Nominated by South Kamloops Secondary School Principal Walt Kirschner who shared in Ms. Watts nomination package: “I would describe Ms. Watts’ legacy as one that is student centered and guided by her passion to motivate and engage all her students in a manner that focuses on a lifelong commitment to health and recreation.” 

With her passion for fitness, health, and well-being, Ms. Watts has impacted thousands of students and athletes throughout her career. She coached at all levels for multiple sports and designed and implemented innovative programming such as Super Fit (which was used District-wide), and was one of the trailblazers in creating and developing physical education classes for females who did not feel comfortable in regular PE classes.

“The committee found that your accomplishments had exemplary system-level impact because of your local, regional, and provincial contributions to secondary sports locally, provincially, and nationally. Thank you for your dedicated service,” shared Board Chair Heather Grieve.

Throughout his 40 years as an educator, coach, mentor, and community champion, Brent Buck has made a profound impact on the students, staff, and the community at Clearwater Secondary School (CSS). Mr. Buck started his career in education as an instructor in a pilot forestry program under a letter of permission. While attending post-secondary school to complete his Bachelor of Education, Mr. Buck volunteered weekly for three years, offering mentorship in classrooms at Clearwater Secondary and multiple high schools in the District to provide a foundation of forestry education. Due to his leadership, the Forestry Logging Program expanded within and beyond the Kamloops-Thompson School District with the province recognizing Mr. Buck’s contributions by sharing Board Authorized Authority courses in forestry and outdoor education.

Nominated by Clearwater Secondary Teacher Lisa Fraser, the CSS community showed their support at the awards ceremony wearing ‘In Buck We Trust’ t-shirts. In his nomination package, CSS Principal Darren Coats noted “Brent’s passion for learning and for instilling a love of learning in others is well known. He is both loved and respected by staff and students alike. I would in fact use the word legendary as an apt description of how he is viewed.”

Mr. Buck was a teacher who knew every student’s name and his shop classes were known to be welcoming and accessible for all with the motto “shop classes are for everyone.” His passion for including the community in projects, and contributing time and expertise to many organizations instilled communal values in students. His work as a TTOC after retirement demonstrates a continued commitment to students and his community.

“Your impact has local and regional effects on public education in his various roles within and beyond the District. What was compelling is how you selflessly offered your time, effort, and expertise, even when you were not yet qualified to teach but helped others refine their practices. Thank you for your service in 糖心Swag and beyond and for making many students’ and teachers’ lives better through learning about forestry and outdoor education,” shared Board Chair Heather Grieve.

During the awards presentation, the honourees were surrounded by colleagues, friends, and family cheering them on. The energy felt in the room was a testament to the positive impact they have had on their communities throughout their careers.