Each year the British Columbia Heathen Freehold makes awards to recognise those within and outside of our community for their achievements. This year’s award winners were an amazing crop of nominees that we believe embody the spirit of our awards.
Freeholder of the Year
This is the only award that the Freehold must make every year. The Freeholder of the Year Award is to recognise the member of the Freehold that was most outstanding in a given year. The achievements can range from exceptional volunteer work for the Freehold to gaining widespread recognition for themselves and the Freehold in the wider community. John T. Mainer was this year’s recipient. His skaldic and galdr related contributions to the Freehold and wider Heathenry are exemplary every year, but this year we believe his activities were truly outstanding.
Frigga’s Loom
Frigga’s Loom is to recognize an individual who has rendered exceptional service to the creation or maintenance of Frithful environments. This describes Paula Maylin as she spearheaded the creation and operation of the BCHF Slack server. She also makes great effort to ensure that people feel welcome and safe in any environment where she can.
Shield-Maiden Award
This award is to recognise an outstanding woman in Heathenry. This year’s recipient certainly fits that description. Lorrie Wood has been a prominent member of the inclusive side of Heathenry for a very long time. Her achievements should serve as an inspiration to all Heathens, but especially other Heathen women. It is unfortunate that her recognition is even more noticeable due to her gender. While the BCHF does not condone discrimination in any form, we must recognise that it exists. One of the intentions behind this award is to raise the recognition profile of women in Heathenry, so that hopefully sexism in Heathenry will be a thing of the past.
Tyrbold Award
This award is to recognise those who best represent the virtues of Tyr, by standing fast in service of the values of justice and honour. Aviation Electrician’s Mate Second Class Joshua Wood is one such. Through hard work and dedication he is now certified as a Heathen religious lay leader aboard a ship of the United States Navy. It is through efforts such as his that Heathenry can come to the attention of government and media in a positive light.
Wyrd-Spinner Award
This award is to recognise excellence and significant contribution to the esoteric practices of Heathenry. Once more Lorrie Wood is nearly peerless in this regard. She has been involved in the development of modern Seiðr for decades. Lorrie has such a familiarity with the runes for both mystical and mundane uses as to be dizzying. Her mastery of Galdr is complete. In short Lorrie Wood may be the most proficient practitioner of Heathen magic alive today.
British Columbia Heathen Freehold 