Walter Siemens

Walter Siemens was born in Saskatchewan in 1935 and arrived in Trail in 1961. It was here he began his illustrious career in insurance and became an active and productive community member.

In 1969, Walt purchased Curriers Insurance on Bay Avenue and would expand his business reach into Rossland in years to come. In 1971, he was commissioned as a Notary Public, as well. By the 1980s, he had expanded further, with offices throughout the West Kootenay.

His brilliance in business was the benefit of many fortunate community organizations, serving four terms on Trail City Council, the Trail Villa Society, the Trail Rotary Club, the United Way, and the Trail & District Chamber of Commerce. He was also active with the Trail Alliance Church and Christian Businessmen’s Committee.

Walt’s career did not restrict him to the Greater Trail area. He was nominated and dutifully served on a variety of provincial and national boards, including the Insurance Council of BC, the Insurance Brokers’ Association of BC, the BC Assessment Authority, the Insurance Brokers’ Association of Canada, and the Society of Notaries Public. He chaired many of these influential organizations.

In 1983 and 1991, Walt ran as the Social Credit provincial candidate for the Rossland-Trail electoral district. While not elected, Walt’s prominence and role in provincially-driven Kootenay initiatives was mighty and included some pivotal wins, including the arrival and sustained funding of diagnostic imaging equipment for the hospital, the successful completion of the West Trail approach, the extension of Kiro Manor, and many other West Kootenay projects.

Walt’s unwavering dedication to the development and sustainability of this community, as well as his service to the insurance industry on a national scale, is both admirable and worthy of this recognition.

Walt was inducted in 2025.