Marita Luk has won a 2019 BC Construction Month Community Leadership Award.
A popular figure in Lower Mainland construction circles, Luk is business development manager in the School of Construction and the Environment (SCOE) at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).
Luk is well known as an enthusiastic advocate for both BCIT and the province’s construction industry, and for her cheerful willingness to look for answers for desperate reporters.
Luk’s award was presented by Donna Grant, marketing manager of Scott Construction Group and the director of community with the Canadian Construction Women’s Association.
Grant also nominated the winner.
In her nomination, Grant said, “Marita Luk goes well beyond the parameters of her role… She is both a bridge and a conduit for those seeking a role in our industry and for an industry hungry for connections and highly motivated talent. You only need to follow her active social media to see she never stops advocating for B.C. construction. From dawn till…well, often dawn again, she is at every event, typically with a group of students by her side, ensuring they are seeing our industry from every angle and getting the introductions that will add fuel to their careers.
“Marita is equally committed to companies and organizations in our industry, responding to every enquiry or request with unwavering enthusiasm and resourcefulness. She is an incredible host, proudly touring groups through the BCIT campus, passionately describing everything they currently have to offer and everything she can envision for their future. It’s impossible to not get caught up in her compelling belief in all that BCIT and B.C. construction can be.
“She is an enormous resource, making a tangible, meaningful difference for so many.”
Wayne Hand, dean of SCOE and Luk’s boss, said, “A great testament to how effective Marita is in promoting BCIT and the School of Construction and the Environment was when Scott Construction Group nominated and the BC Construction Association selected Marita to receive a Construction Leadership Award. She has made a positive impact on the success and culture of our school and of the construction industry. Congratulations Marita, well-deserved.”
Luk, for her part, says she was “surprised, pleased and proud” to win the award.
“I certainly didn’t expect to receive it,” she said.
Luk is involved in many of the responsibilities of running SCOE, which is one of BCIT’s biggest schools, with about 13,000 students and over 400 part-time and full-time faculty and staff.
She oversees student recruitment, business and industry relations, the school’s web site, marketing strategy, promotions, communications, social media, special projects, such as the upcoming Ecocity World Summit in October 2019, and community engagement and fundraising events.
To carry out this long list of responsibilities, Luk has a commodious took kit of digital and traditional instruments: Social media, Internet search engine optimization (SEO), print marketing, earned media and public relations, partnerships with non-profits, trade shows, community event development and coordination and public speaking.
“I have lots of energy and enthusiasm,” said Luk. “I love helping people.”
During the 16 years in her position at SCOE, Luk says she has seen changes in education and in industry and in every aspect of her job.
“As our school has grown, I now have a full-time support staff, Lauren Swanson, to assist me,” she said. “It’s not possible to be everywhere, but I try. I have the best job ever. Every day is different.”
Including Luk, a total of 13 Construction Month Community Leadership awards were presented to individuals across B.C.
The awards are the end result of an application process that allows organizations in B.C.’s construction industry to nominate a person or organization they believe has shown exemplary leadership and community contributions in construction over the past year.
The BCCA provides the award to the nominating party, who then presents it to the recipient.
To find out more, see https://www.constructionmonth.ca/construction-awards/.
Construction Month is an initiative of the BCCA that is supported by the provincial government’s annual proclamation of April as Construction and Skilled Trades Month.