Don Cunnings (1931–) is an educator and recreation leader who established numerous associations and organizations toward the promotion of physical education and recreation in Coquitlam. He was the City of Coquitlam’s very first Parks and Recreation Director.

Cunnings was born on February 17, 1931 in Vancouver, B.C., to Effie and Leslie Cunnings. Cunnings and his family lived in Collingwood in east Vancouver, were Cunnings attended Sir Guy Carlton Elementary School. There, school officials discovered he had congenital cataracts on both eyes, whereupon he was transferred Sight-Saving Classes at General Gordon Elementary School and later to Kitsilano Jr. Sr. High School.

Cunnings enrolled in a Provincial Recreation (Pro-Rec) class at Sir Guy Carlton Elementary, because even with his limited vision, Cunnings could still see the tumbling mats, springboard and vaulting box. He excelled at gymnastics, catching the attention of Pro-Rec instructor, Alex Strain. Under his training, Cunnings won the Provincial Jr. Boy's Pro-Rec Gymnastic Championship when he was just sixteen years old. Cunnings also became a Sea Scout patrol leader, and attained his'Queen Scout' badge, which allowed him to command a 27' whaler boat with a sighted crew.

With endorsements from both his Pro-Rec Instructor and High School PE teacher, Cunnings was accepted into the Pro-Rec Instructor Summer Training School at the BC Normal School. After graduating high school he became a Pro-Rec Instructor and was assigned a Pro-Rec class in Maillardivlle in Coquitlam, B.C.

When Cunnings was twenty-one years old, he underwent eye surgery and regained his sight. After this surgery Cunnings began his career as a physical education teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary and Secondary School from 1950-1953. He became the Division Head of Essondale's Crease Clinic Recreation Therapy Department in 1953 before taking on the position of Recreation Director for the District of Coquitlam's Recreation Commission in 1955, then Recreation Director in 1958, then Inter-Municipal Recreation Director from 1962-1965, until his appointment as the Director of the Leisure and Parks Service in 1966, which he held until 1994. By the time he retired, he had served the Coquitlam’s recreation department for nearly forty years, and has since acted as a consultant for the City.

Cunnings also received a senior gymnastic coaching diploma from the Canadian National Gymnastic Association in 1959. While he held his position as Recreation Director for the City of Coquitlam, he attended the UBC School of Physical Education & Recreation and graduated in the class of 1962, and completed an Executive Development Program for Parks and Recreation at Indiana University in 1970.

Throughout his life, Cunnings has held numerous memberships and taken on many leadership roles in his community. He was one of the founding members of the British Columbia Recreation Association (1958), and served as President for the association through 1963-1964. He also held the position of Vice President of the Canadian Association of Physical Education, Health Education & Recreation (CAPHER). After receiving emergency planning, command and control, and search and rescue management programs, Cunnings created and directed the first Search and Rescue team in Coquitlam in 1973. From 1977 to 1987, Cunnings was appointed as Acting Municipal Manager during the Manager’s annual leave. Notably, Cunnings led the visioning team that developed the City of Coquitlam’s “Town Centre” park during 1980-1994. After his retirement, Cunning has focused much of his time engaging with the community and volunteering for local organizations. He was Vice President of the Douglas College Foundation Board in 1997 and served as President of the Board of Directors for the Douglas College Centre for Sport, Recreation, and Wellness Society from 2005 to 2007.

Additionally, Cunnings has acted as a guest speaker and lecturer at local, provincial, and national conferences in Canada and the USA and has had guest appearances on television and local and provincial videos. He has published numerous newspaper articles about recreation and parks.

The City of Coquitlam, Douglas College, and School District #43 jointly named "Cunnings Field" in Coquitlam in his honour in 1999. Cunnings was inducted into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame on June 22nd, 2012, recognizing his contributions as a gymnastics coach, his achievements as a gymnast, and for his work as Coquitlam's very first Parks and Recreation Director. Cunnings was also awarded the City of Coquitlam’s Freedom of the City award on May 5, 2014.

Don Buchanan served as Director of Planning for the City of Coquitlam from 1969 to 1987. He served as the Acting Municipal Manager starting in 1988 and then Acting City Manager (when Coquitlam became a City in 1992) until 1997. Buchanan Square at Coquitlam City Hall is named in his honour.

William Johnston Fenton was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in August 1925. He immigrated to Canada with his Mother, Amelia Arabella, Father, William James, and his Sister, Caroline. After first settling near Prince Albert in northern Saskatchewan, the family made its way to Vancouver in April, 1936. The connection between the Fenton Family and forest products began when William James Fenton got a job with the Canadian Western Lumber Company Ltd at Fraser Mills on August 1st, 1936, commuting from Vancouver via interurban streetcar. In 1938, the family purchased land and built a house on Alderson Ave in Maillardville so as to be closer to the mill. Over the next few years, the family grew to include Jim, Irene, Phyllis, Mickey, and Colleen. William James became Personnel Manager but his career was interrupted by ill health and he died on July 4th, 1955 at the age of 52.

William Johnston Fenton (most commonly known as John Fenton) and all of his siblings worked at Fraser Mills or with other forest product operations in the area. John started as a casual labourer in the shipping department in 1942 and moved to the plywood plant shortly thereafter. He joined the Canadian Army in June 1944, was discharged in August, 1946, and returned to the mill. He worked as a clerk in the Traffic Department before becoming an Invoice Clerk in 1948. In 1952, he was assigned to Calgary not long after his marriage in 1951. They moved back to Coquitlam in 1954 and John then worked for the Sales Department of what was by that point, Crown Zellerbach. He moved through the managerial ranks, ultimately becoming Sales Manager for British Columbia. During this time, he built two houses on Quadling Avenue, and was a prominent community volunteer for the Coquitlam School Board and the local United Way.

In 1966, he was transferred to Toronto to be the Manager of the Ontario Sales Region and soon was responsible for sales in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. He returned to Coquitlam in 1970 and held various management positions before moving to Kelowna in 1984, where he retired as Manager of Marketing in 1990. During the later years of his career, John became an industry guru regarding wood products, with a particular emphasis on plywood. He was active as an industry representative who facilitated market expansion in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan. His knowledge of plywood production and forest products manufacturing helped inform early negotiations with the United States on a Softwood Lumber Trade Agreement and he assisted in developing product standards through the Canada Standards Association.

Ronald James Fielding was born in Vancouver in 1910 to Thomas and Sarah Fielding. Fielding married Barbara May MacDonald in 1936. Fielding was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Excelsior Lodge #7 in Chilliwack for 70 years and associate member of Royal City/Burnaby Lodge #3.

Leonard Frank was a well-known professional photographer in British Columbia between 1910-1944. He was born in Germany and first moved to San Francisco, before travelling to Alberni, B.C., to work in the mining industry. He began his photography interest there. In 1916, he moved to Vancouver and began to work as a photographer.

Son of one of Germany's earliest professional photographers, Leonard Frank was born in Berne, Germany in 1870. In 1892 he was struck with gold fever and emigrated to San Francisco, moving to Alberni on Vancouver Island two years later intending to prospect for gold. Frank never discovered gold, but by chance won a raffle prize of a camera which sparked his lifelong passion. While managing a general store and continuing to prospect, Frank took pictures of the surrounding country until photography became his chosen profession.

In 1917, Frank moved to Vancouver and quickly became the leading commercial / industrial photographer in the city. Frank 's photographs form a unique document of Vancouver and British Columbia's history between the wars. Whether in woods, shooting the activities of the lumber industry, or on Vancouver's waterfront, recording the contents of warehouses, Frank invariably managed to produce photographs which not only included the required factual information, but also the most exquisite natural light effects. He was frequently commissioned to photograph for both the provincial and federal governments, as well as being the official photographer for the Vancouver Board of Trade. Frank was an associate member of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, the first in Vancouver to receive the coveted award. He later established Leonard Frank Photos studio. After Frank's death, his photographic studio was purchased by Otto Landauer, and closed in 1983.

Del Gachallan was born in the Phillipines and moved to Coquitlam. Gachallan is a retired engineer, musician and author. In 1991, he composed a song in honour of the city's centennial year, entitled "Coquitlam, My Town."

Raymond (Ray) Gareau (1942--) was a mill worker who worked at Fraser Mills for over 35 years.

Raymond Gareau was born in Winnipeg in 1942. In 1945 the Gareau family moved to Maillardville in after Raymond’s father was discharged from the Canadian Air Force. The Gareau family was incentivized to move to Maillardville by the promise of employment at Fraser Mills as well as government incentives for the purchase of a house. A further incentive was the Maillardville area, which had a well-established French Catholic community.

Gareau was educated at several local schools, including private parochial schools, Millside School, Austin Heights School, Como Lake Senior Secondary, as well as Notre Dame High School in Vancouver. He later obtained a Certificate in Business Administration from Eric Hamber Secondary, the tuition for which was provided in part by his employer.

Gareau began working at Fraser Mills as a teenager, on weekends and during the summer. During his employment at Fraser Mills he held a number of different roles, including several supervisory and management positions. After retiring, he started a small consulting company related to forest products.

Gareau was an active member of his community, serving on the board of directors for the Village Credit Union, as well as the Place Maillardville Community Centre. He also served as president of Club Bel Âge.

Gareau married his high school sweetheart, Margaret, who trained as a nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital, and became one of the first nurses to work at Eagle Ridge Hospital when it opened in 1984. The couple have two children, Richard and Robert.

John Graham was a Chartered Accountant in New Wesminster, British Columbia. He was born in Fossoway, Scotland in 1887 and emigrated to Canada a around 1910. He married Maude Mabel Sworder in 1913. Graham died in 1952.

Hannah Hollingsworth was born in Bredsall, England. She moved to Canada and married Joseph William Harris and they had two children, John Edward and Wilfred. She passed away on March 6, 1956.

John Edward Harris was born in 1910 in Derbyshire, England, to Joseph William and Hannah Harris. They emigrated to Canada. Harris was a mill worker. He married Gladys Hannah Larson in 1936. He died in 1983.

Joseph William Harris was born on April 29, 1876. He was a rancher and labourer from Handbury, England who immigrated to Canada in 1909 and lived in Grand Forks, B.C. before settling in Coquitlam. He was married to Hannah Hollingworth and they had two children, John Edward and Wilfred. Harris enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on June 2, 1916 at the age of 40 and served with the 225th Overseas Battalion. He was discharged as medically unfit on January 22, 1917. He passed away on November 18, 1955. It is believed that Harris Ave is named after him.

Linda Harris is the daughter of Wilfred and Katherine Margaret Harris.

Wilfred Harris was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia in 1911 to Joseph William and Hannah Harris. Wilfred worked as a lumber grader. He married Katherine Margaret Sitter in 1942 in New Westminster and they had a daughter, Linda Harris. Wilfred Harris died in 1998.

Ken Haywood was the General Sales Manager at Fogg Motors Limited of New Westminster and had a long history with Westwood Racetrack. He served as President of the Westwood Karting Association and organized twelve go-kart meets every summer in the 1960s. His three sons and his daughter all raced in the karting series at Westwood.
Haywood also served as a Director and Membership Chairman for the Kiwanis Club and was instrumental in developing the club’s defensive driving program.

Russell Hellard was born in 1924 in Toronto, Ontario. He worked briefly as a laboratory assistant at the Ontario Research Foundation before enlisting with the Canadian Army in 1943. He trained at Camp Ipperwash in Ontario, then was sent for a Special Wireless Course at Vimy Barracks (the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals and Canadian Signal Training Centre), before being sent to Vancouver and then on to Victoria, British Columbia to await deployment to Australia. He served with the No.1 Special Wireless Group in Darwin monitoring Japanese wireless signals until the conclusion of the war in 1945. Once the war was over, it took six months to travel back to Canada with all of the equipment that had been shipped to Australia during the war. Mr. Hellard's unit returned to Canada in February, 1946.

Russell Hellard, his wife Kay and daughter Susan lived in Toronto before his company, Calgon, relocated him briefly to Edmonton for two years. The family then moved to Coquitlam in 1959. Hellard worked for 30 years in industrial water treatment and retired in 1981. During his retirement he became very active across British Columbia as a professional dog show photographer. He was very active in the area of crime prevention within the Coquitlam community between 1984 and 1997, serving as chairman of the Crime Prevention Committee from 1989-1991 and the Community Policing Committee from 1992-1996. He was also actively involved with the Crime Watch Patrol, Block Watch, Court Watch, and Vandal Watch programs. He volunteered his photographic skills for several large community events in Coquitlam, including the BC Summer Games and Centennial celebrations, both in 1991. Hellard has also been an active volunteer and activity group leader at Dogwood Pavilion with the Lifewriters Group, which began in 1999, the Veterans Group, and the Volunteer Improvement Program. He has also photographed many Dogwood Pavilion events over the years. Russell died on February 25 2023.

James (Jim) Hinds served as the Manager of the Coquitlam Satellites Women's Hockey Team between 1971 and 1982. He worked for BC Hydro from 1964 until 2001 and was elected to Council in Mission in 2014. He is currently serving as a Councillor in Mission, BC.