Hartley Bay man makes Time magazine's heroes list.

You've heard many athletes who win MVP awards say it was a team effort, and that there were several other players on the team who could have won the recognition. Bruce Reece feels the same way.

Reece's team, though, was made up of fellow residents in Hartley Bay and the game was far more dangerous than any sport. It was the sinking of the Queen of the North ferry on March 29 near Hartley Bay and Reece, like it or not, has been chosen as a top Canadian hero by Time magazine's Canadian edition for his part in the rescue efforts.

Time called the heroes list, released in June, a series of snapshots of Canada's most devoted and determined citizens, who have earned their country's pride by changing it for the better. Time Canada associate editor, Rebecca Myers, said the third annual Canadian heroes list looks at "everyday people who faced extraordinary situations; from a shipwreck and a war zone, to the troubled Arctic and a suffering small town, and rose to the occasion. They vary in age and are from different walks of life."

Reece is in good company as he is joined on the list by former federal NDP leader Ed Broadbent, war hero Paul Franklin, and Canada's Olympic women. But the 49-year-old who has two grand-children, shies away from the individual attention.

"I would feel better if they put the whole community of Hartley Bay on the list," said Reece. "Because it wasn't just one or two people, it was the whole community."

Reece was one of the first to act after hearing a distress call on his VHF radio just past midnight that got him out of bed. Through the static, he said he could hear the captain of the ferry saying that the ship had run aground and was taking on water.

"I couldn't believe it; a boat that size with all the modern equipment they have now," said Reece. "I told my wife it didn't sound very good so I put on my clothes and ran down to the dock."

Down at the dock there were a handful of men waiting who had also heard the distress call but didn't have a boat. They joined Reece as he plowed into the rough waters, soon to be joined by five other boats.

And, while Reece said he would have gone out to help anyway, he had extra motivation in that his niece, Leanne, and her teenage daughter, were on the boat en route to Klemtu.

"When I got there I could see it was down a bit, tilting towards starboard, and I went to where the life rafts were," he recalled. "I started asking for Leanne, if anyone knew her, then I started hollering her name. She called out "Uncle, I'm here," and told me they were OK in a raft.

Satisfied his niece was safe, Reece began to take people aboard his 21-foot aluminum boat, with seven survivors making the trip back to the village with him.

"They were in shock and still kind of panicky. Some were just wearing their pyjamas and didn't even have socks, so I gave them whatever clothes I had, caps and jackets, socks, to stay warm."

Of the 101 passengers, 99 survived, thanks to the efforts of Reece and fellow villagers, along with the Canadian Coast Guard ship, Sir Wilfred Laurier, that just happened to be in the area. Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette of 100 Mile House, B.C. did not survive.

The village of Hartley Bay didn't go without any accolades, as in May it received the Governor General?s Commendation for Outstanding Service Award.

"There were at least 12 to 18 people who came in boats and then, when we got back, the women and children helped out with food and clothing," said Reece. "It was a total community effort."