A dedicated family man and proud member of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, Jamie Collins was also an avid outdoorsman, a tireless mentor and a friend to many.
When he died unexpectedly in June 2023, his long-time friend and business partner Chad Hartnell wanted to make sure Collins’s positive impact continued, so he established the Jamie Collins Memorial Bursary Fund and kicked it off with a substantial donation through his companies Twin Valley Contracting and Smúwe7 Cougar Contracting. Since then, dozens of individuals and businesses have stepped up to honour Collins, a man they all knew as a hard worker with a heart as big as his smile. From partners on pipeline work to co-contractors on civil projects, many he worked with appreciated the opportunity to give back in memory of a man who gave so much.
“He was a real doer. He would go to work every day and be filthy dirty with his safety vest on and the biggest grin on his face,” says Hartnell. “I wanted to do something that would honour Jamie’s memory and go on forever in his name.”
To date, the fund has reached over $61,000 and two annual awards have been created: the Jamie Collins Memorial Award in Natural Resource Science and the Jamie Collins Memorial Award in Adventure Studies. In honour of Collins, both awards give preference to students as passionate about the outdoors as he was.
“He was a very genuine person. He would go into classrooms every year and talk to the kids about hunting and trapping and the values within,” says Hartnell. “He was a big advocate for passing on those skills.”
Outside of his professional life, Collins was a dedicated volunteer who gave countless hours to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc community and beyond, delivering firewood to Elders and processing salmon and wild meat for them, donating and installing playground equipment and taking youth out on the land to pass on his knowledge and skills.
The generosity of Hartnell and many others ensures the Collins legacy will live on. To contribute to the Jamie Collins Memorial Bursary Fund, visit www.tru.ca/collins
