New Westminster native Chelsea Stamp-Vincent is one of eight recipients of the B.C. Rehab Gert Vorsteher Memorial Award.

The award, worth $5,000 and announced Thursday, is presented annually to individuals with disabilities who have shown determination towards pursuing rehabilitation goals and regaining personal independence while living with a physical disability.

Stamp-Vincent is a local actress who recently performed in Jehanne of the Witches, staged by Douglas College theatre and stagecraft students in November 2011.

The play, written by Sally Clark, told the story of Joan of Arc through Gilles de Rais, a knight who served alongside Joan whom Clark identifies as Joan's best friend.

The Jehanne production looked at Joan not as a virgin saint and martyr but as a real girl in the process of becoming a woman, and one who is struggling with her faith at a time when the pagan world was on the wane and the Christian world on the ascent.

The other recipients of the B.C. Rehab award are: Greg Erikson of Surrey, Janie Rae Gaudet of Aldergrove, Kyle Andrew Gieni, Byron Green and Joel Libin of Vancouver, Mathew Loring of Salmon Arm and Norma Vincent of Abbotsford.

To date, $120,000 has been distributed through the Gert Vorsteher Memorial Fund in the past four years.

Award recipients will be honoured at a May 16 ceremony at the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver.

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