At this year’s Welcome Back Picnic, you may have noticed something new (and something sweet) rolling onto campus: a Rocky Point Ice Cream Truck. Courtesy of Honourary Alumnus and co-founder of Rocky Point Ice Cream, Jamie Cuthbert, it brought more than frozen treats; it brought the story of a Meadowridge student who helped build our school in its very first year and went on to build one of BC’s most beloved local brands.
From Shack by the Park to a BC Favourite
Jamie Cuthbert is the founder of Rocky Point Ice Cream and Rocky Point Kayak, a beloved local brand that has grown from a small seasonal shack into a BC favourite. But when he first began scooping in the summer of 1997, he wasn’t trying to build an empire—he just wanted to share good ice cream with good people and find a summer job that left winters free for skiing.
Back then, Jamie was running an in-line skate rental business when an opportunity to lease a small building next to Rocky Point Park came up. “We had two service windows that faced the park, so we thought what better product to complement in-line skate rentals than ice cream?” he recalls. Soon, ice cream overtook skating as the star attraction. It was a small, seasonal business that didn’t earn much, but Jamie loved the community that came with it. Familiar faces, warm summer nights, and the joy of returning customers slowly turned a side hustle into a calling. What began as a part-time passion project evolved slowly—and sometimes painfully—into a full-time business that now employs over 155 full-time and part-time employees.
In the early years, Jamie and his wife Yvette did it all: scooping cones, juggling side jobs, raising two toddlers and working long hours just to keep the doors open. “We didn’t earn a significant amount of money in the beginning,” he laughs. “But we believed in Port Moody and what it could become.”
That belief has paid off. Today, Rocky Point Ice Cream is a thriving, award-winning business with multiple scoop shops, food trucks, and BC’s first licensed dairy plant dedicated solely to craft ice cream. Everything is made from scratch using real, locally sourced ingredients. What hasn’t changed is Jamie’s commitment to quality, community, and the simple idea that ice cream makes everything better.
“We didn’t just attend Meadowridge—we helped build it,” Jamie reflects. “In every sense, we were laying the groundwork for the students who came after us.”
Ties to Meadowridge: An Inaugural Student
Jamie’s story starts long before ice cream, right here at Meadowridge. In 1985, he was among the school’s first 85 students. With British parents who secretly wished Canada’s public schools felt a bit more like the ones they’d known, with uniforms, headmasters, and of course, rugby, brand-new Meadowridge seemed like a perfect fit. So soon after, Jamie, along with his best friend, began Grade 6 during the school’s inaugural year.
What Jamie didn’t realize was that being part of the first 85 students meant everyone (parents included) had jobs to do. “My parents got bus duty, which meant arranging and scheduling rides for kids from all over,” Jamie remembers. He endured long days of commutes, classes, and rugby practices. “On rainy days, we’d squeeze into the ‘gym’—aka a double-wide portable—with centre posts you had to dodge if you wanted to keep your teeth”. By the following spring, when Meadowridge’s first grass field was ready to be laid, Jamie and his classmates laid out the turf themselves.
“We didn’t just attend Meadowridge—we helped build it,” Jamie reflects. “In every sense, we were laying the groundwork for the students who came after us.”
A Scoop with Every Memory
Today, Jamie still lives in Port Moody, just blocks from where it all began. Though his business has grown, he remains hands-on, guiding Rocky Point’s expansion while keeping its values rooted in community.
“It’s been a wild ride,” he says. “But at the end of the day, it’s about making memories for our customers. A scoop with every memory, and a memory with every scoop.”
From Meadowridge’s first year to every Rocky Point cone enjoyed on a summer evening, Jamie’s story is one of roots, resilience, and the sweet rewards of building something with head, heart, and hands.