River Leigh Poirier was Port Alberni’s New Year’s baby, arriving a week before her due date on Jan. 5 and now she is also the first baby to be recognized under the city’s centennial program.
Poirier was presented with a centennial certificate on Tuesday to kick off a commemorative program for 2012.
“This will be a memento that will go in their baby book,” Alberni Valley Museum director Jean McIntosh said. The certificate will be something that will remind them of their heritage, their roots, she added.
Mayor John Douglas and centennial committee chairman Ken Rutherford will sign the certificates.
Poirier mother, Kelly, was happy her daughter received the first certificate. “I’m kind of a history buff,” she said. “That’s why I love all the projects I do around heritage, with the museum. It’s kind of fun to have her be a part of local history.”
Poirier was born and raised in Port Alberni, and returned here six years ago after attending Emily Carr University of Art and Design and working for CTV. Her communications company, White Raven, recently designed the book for Hisheenqu’as, Living Together: Alberni and the Birth of the Forest Industry, produced for the AV Museum.
“I’m a total Alberni Valley booster,” she said. “I love our community.”
Certificates will also be available for people turning 100 in 2012, said Pam Craig, a centennial committee member who came up with the idea. To request a centennial baby or 100th birthday certificate, please e-mail Pam Craig at pcraig@avtimes.net and provide her with contact information.
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