I was invited to BCIT‘s 50th Anniversary Gala at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. I had the honour of presenting two 2014 Distinguished Alumni awards with BCIT Alumni Association president Brent Charleton.

The amazing Dal Richards and lovely Muriel were at our table, with host for the evening CTV’s Mike Killeen. Dal and MIke are both graduates of BCIT, Mike in broadcasting and Dal (at the age of 40) in hospitality. Dal will be 97 years young in January. Dal presented an award for Outstanding Student Leadership.

This was a wonderfully organized and special evening with over 1300 in attendance for dinner. It ran smoothly and on time. Mike Killeen kept things moving and a tip of the hat to him for his professionalism.

In 1988 a scholarship in broadcasting was created in my name and since then I have made it an endowment. I really believe in giving back to the community as so many do.

An honorary doctorate was given to Bill Good for a career that spans half a century in radio and television. He is the only person to have anchored news at CBC, CTV and Global TV. We had a brief discussion before the ceremonies and he told me he had slipped on some toys his grandson had been playing with on the floor of their house and had broken ribs. You would never have known it to see him walk up the stairs to the podium to accept his award. All in all an outstanding job by everyone at BCIT and the organizers.

Midweek I was the keynote speaker at the 40th Anniversary celebrations at The University of the Fraser Valley where I have an honorary doctorate of letters. I love this campus and the people involved. It is one of the friendliest scholastic atmospheres I have ever experienced. The relationship between students and instructors is amazing.

I hope that my presentation was inspiring to young people. I walked the audience through my career, which began as a 17 year old high school student and where the road took me on my wonderful journey. The highlights, of course, were the people I met along the way: the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Buddy Holly to name but a few. The video journey took a mere 15 minutes but it summed up my 60 years of broadcasting. Many thanks to everyone at UFV for their hospitality and for the honor they bestowed upon me.