A scholarship has been established in memory of well-known Peninsula businessman Cliff Annable.
Officials with the Semiahmoo Community Safety Society said Friday (May 8) that the first Cliff Annable Scholarships for Leadership, Community Safety and Volunteerism awards are to be presented to a trio of 2020 grads – regardless of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the school year.
“The convocation ceremony… is not going to go on as it has been in the past, so they’re still trying to determine what that’s going to look like this year,” society vice-president Bill Lawrence said of presentation plans.
“But they still will have a graduation, there’s no doubt about that, and we will be in place for this current academic year.”
Annable died unexpectedly on March 5, 2019, after suffering a heart attack. He was 71.
A founding member of the safety society (launched in 1993, it was formerly known as the Semiahmoo Volunteer Community Police Society), Annable’s involvement around the Semiahmoo Peninsula was extensive. He was a Rotarian, former owner of the Surrey Eagles, former White Rock city councillor, a director of KidSport and also served on the Peace Arch Hospital Partners in Caring Campaign and the White Rock/South Surrey Foundation – to name a few.
READ MORE: ‘Incredible friend and supporter’ Cliff Annable remembered
READ MORE: Volunteers aim to boost community safety
Annable also helped fundraise for, and ultimately run, the Rotary Fieldhouse.
Lawrence said Annable’s support for youth made establishing the scholarship an easy decision for the society’s board of directors.
“He spent a lot of his time mentoring,” Lawrence said. “He was really, really pushing the physical activity side, but then on the other side, he pushed volunteerism.
“That’s the type of person that he was. He was somebody that tried to help anywhere and anybody that he can.”
Society president Darren Alexander added that Annable was a staple at “every single event” in the community, from fundraisers to networking mixers.
“He was definitely a presence.”
The scholarship – the first ever offered by the society – was announced at last year’s Red Serge Gala, which is the society’s main fundraiser. It is to be awarded to one student from each of the Semiahmoo Peninsula’s three public high schools: Earl Marriott, Semiahmoo and Elgin Park.
Recipients of the $1,500 award will be chosen for their volunteerism, leadership, physical activity and efforts in the community. Academic considerations will be based on the students’ first-semester grades, Lawrence noted.
Katherine De Vita, a society director, said administrators at each of the high schools will select five students from award applicants, and society members will determine the winners from those.
Alexander said the intention is for the society to continue sponsoring the scholarship permanently.
“We feel really good about it. We’re planning on doing this for a really long time.”
tholmes@peacearchnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
