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Robert Fine, Barbara Marchand and Charles Armstrong will join a select group of distinguished individuals who are Honorary Fellows of Okanagan College.

The College will acknowledge the achievements of Fine, Manager of Economic Development for the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission; Marchand, First Nations artist and educator; and Armstrong, retired corporate officer, as 2009 Honorary Fellows at a series of Convocation ceremonies this June.

“We are fortunate to be associated with three of the Valley’s most community-minded individuals and to have the opportunity to pay tribute to Robert Fine, Barbara Marchand and Charles Armstrong with the distinction of Okanagan College Honorary Fellow,” said Jim Hamilton, President of Okanagan College. “All of these Honorary Fellows are excellent role models for our students and institution and we are proud to name them Fellows among us.”

Fine has an extensive history of cooperation and collaboration with the College through both the Okanagan School of Business and the International Education department. In his role as Executive Director for the EDC, Fine is well respected for his efforts and innovative leadership in the economic development of the Okanagan.

Fine’s support of the work of the research cluster in the Okanagan School of Business has resulted in awards for students involved in the Business Research Project of the honours program of the Bachelor of Business Administration. He has also contributed his time to the direct supervision and mentorship of student researchers and their projects.

Marchand’s contributions as an artist and educator have contributed richly to the Okanagan Valley over the past 20 years. She is an accomplished and recognized interdisciplinary multimedia artist, an award-winning illustrator of four seminal books for First Nations children, and is a respected instructor at the En’owkin Centre’s Visual Arts program. Marchand is of Syilx (Okanagan) native heritage, is an Okanagan College alumna and a recipient of the First Annual British Columbia Creative Achievement Award for Indigenous Art.

Charles Armstrong has a distinguished record of local, national and international service as a retired corporate officer. Armstrong has served on a number of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations and has held the position of President of the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan, Director of the Art Gallery of the South Okanagan,

Chair of the Penticton Economic Development Bureau and Director of the Interior Health Authority Board. In 2002, Armstrong was awarded the Queens’ Commemorative Medal for Service to the Community and the Canadian Crown and in 2007 was recognized with the BC Health Association Legacy Award for his work on board governance.

The honorees will be recognized at the following ceremonies held at Okanagan College’s Kelowna campus:

Barbara Marchand – 11 a.m. June 6, 2009
Charles Armstrong – 2:30 p.m. June 6, 2009
Robert Fine – 6:30 p.m. June 25, 2009