R.J.C. Atkins was born in Portsmouth, Ontario and migrated to British Columbia in 1892. He bought thirteen acres of land on North Road in 1905 and settled in Coquitlam. He was elected Councillor in 1911 and served on Coquitlam Council until 1914. Atkins died on August 4, 1840.

E.A. Atkins served on Council from the date of Coquitlam's incorporation in 1891 until he was elected Reeve of the Corporation of the District of Coquitlam in 1897. He held the position of Reeve until 1903. He was an original settler of the area, having been issued a Crown Land Grant for District Lot 382 in the New Westminster District on June 6th, 1883.

ArtsConnect Tri-Cities Arts Council is a non-profit society and regional arts council. It was originally formed in 1969 as the Coquitlam Fine Arts Council (CFAC), to promote arts and cultural activities in Coquitlam. During 1983–1991 it changed its name to the Coquitlam Area Fine Arts Council (CAFAC) when it expanded its services to Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Anmore, and Belcarra. From 1992–2002 the organization was known as the ARC Arts Council, to reflect the Council’s role as an Arts Resource Centre. In 2003, the board changed the organization’s name to ArtsConnect.

ArtsConnect is dedicated to “connecting people through the arts.” They act as an arts resource, providing information about arts and cultural events and opportunities to the community at large. They achieve this by providing forums, workshops, professional development, and events that reflect the community’s diversity of culture, ages, and interests. Additionally, ArtsConnect fosters opportunities for artists to showcase their work at events, exhibitions and performances. ArtsConnect’s goal is to create and expand awareness of the beneficial aspects of arts and culture on the well-being of its community and advocate for arts and cultural development in the region. Throughout its history, it received funding from the Government of British Columbia, municipal grants, fundraising, membership, and donations.

Governance of ArtsConnect is overseen by a Board of Directors, responsible for the management of a Council for the purposes of achieving its objectives. The Council consists of a President, Vice-President, and a Secretary/Treasurer. The Council itself has three types of committees: an Executive Committee, Standing Committees, and Special Committees.

ArtsConnect has undertaken and sponsored many arts and cultural initiatives, including an arts resource centre and library, arts facility and program development, their Youth Matters! initiative, and provided scholarships and grants for students, individuals, and projects contributing to the literary, visual, and performing arts in the community. It held annual events, such as Works in 3D, Vernissage, Faces of the World Arts and Culture Festival and many other exhibitions and events, workshops, and educational programs. Additionally, it maintained a partnership with Tri-Cities Community TV and aired an eponymous television program that ran on the local Shaw TV channel 4.