Anita Tozer Memorial Award - bestowed by Mayor & Council

2023 Anita Tozer Memorial Award Recipient

Barry Lapointe

As a child, Barry Lapointe dreamed of flying, and by the age of 16, he was in the cockpit logging the first of his more than 18,000 hours. And like most kids, Barry liked to tinker, fixing things that were broken. So, as an adult, he combined these two passions and started his own small aircraft repair shop, run from the back of a panel van.  
Over the past 50 years, KF Aerospace has grown to employ nearly 1100 across the country. In addition to aircraft engineering, maintenance and modifications, KF Aerospace is also a leading Air Cargo operator and serves as a Royal Canadian Air Force training ground. 
But Barry’s impact goes far beyond KF Aerospace. He’s served on dozens of public and private boards and supported community colleges and foundations across Canada. In 2015, he was appointed to the Order of BC and four years later, inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.  
Barry’s latest project is creating the Centre of Excellence, a building designed as a legacy to the importance of aerospace in Canada’s past and future; a place for community to gather and where kids can see old airplanes like the ones that inspired Barry’s personal journey into the sky. 

About the Award

Anita Tozer was best known as a humanitarian devoted to the welfare of others.  She dedicated the last third of her life to volunteering, most notably with the United Way of the Central & South Okanagan/Similkameen.  She served the United Way in almost every position over a period of 25 years.  Anita Tozer was a recipient of the Sarah Donalda Treadgold Memorial Award in 1991.

Anita Tozer passed away on July 10, 2000 at the age of 72. 

Award Criteria

The Anita Tozer Memorial Award is awarded to an individual or group in recognition of an extraordinary and positive contribution to the quality of life in Kelowna.

This award is not open to the public for nominating, as each year it is selected and presented by Mayor and Council.