CLOVERDALE — As workers were buzzing about the Cloverdale fairgrounds preparing for rodeo weekend, a longtime community supporter was being honoured just steps away.
On Thursday the City of Surrey unveiled two commemorative initiatives to honour the late Bill Reid’s public and philanthropic service.
The Cloverdale Millennium Amphitheatre has been renamed the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre, and 62nd Avenue from 176th Street to the Stetson Bowl will now be known as Bill Reid Way.
A modest crowd of Reid’s family and friends, as well as politicians and colleagues gathered on the sunny afternoon as signs for the two honourary projects were unveiled.
Reid was 78 when he lost his battle with cancer on May 28, 2013. He’s been described as a dreamer, a visionary, an outstanding citizen and an unrelenting supporter of all good things Surrey.
Reid's beyond exemplary community service earned him the monikers "Mr. Surrey" and "Mr. Cloverdale," not to mention being chosen Surrey Good Citizen of the Year 2013.
Widow Marion Reid said a few words before the unveiling, and described her late husband as someone who “did what he loved, and loved what he did.â€
“It is a great honour,†she said of the legacy projects.
Reid’s longtime friend and business colleague, Sherrold Haddad, also took to the podium to say a few words.
“What a glorious day. With the sun so bright, it reminds me of Bill’s smile,†Haddad told the crowd.
Haddad described Reid as a “remarkable man,†and one of Cloverdale’s strongest supporters.
When it appeared Reid would have to take a break from the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce, Haddad said there was “no replacement for Bill Reid.â€
Haddad thanked Reid’s family for allowing him to spend his time helping to build the community of Cloverdale, which Reid often and fondly referred to as “the centre of the universe.â€
“As we leave today, look around you at this part of Cloverdale, and Surrey, and you will recognize the many works of Bill Reid in the community he so loved. How very appropriate to quote the words of Ted Kennedy: ‘Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream of things that never were, and say why not?’â€
Haddad closed his speech with Reid’s favourite phrase, which he said was always accompanied by a smile and a thumbs up: “Keep the faith.â€
Reid served as a Surrey politician at a variety of levels, and though he was forced to resign from his post as Socred tourism minister in 1989 after he awarded more than $250,000 in GO B.C. lottery grants to a project run by a friend, he proved himself to be a quintessential Surrey booster in the years that followed.
He served with a plethora of Surrey organizations, including the Cloverdale Business Improvement Association, the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce, the Surrey Heritage Society, the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association and the Fraser Valley Heritage Rail Society.
Mayor Dianne Watts said Reid has always been near and dear to her heart, and is proud to be able to celebrate his contribution to Cloverdale, and the City of Surrey.
“His dedication and hard work and commitment to this province and to this city was really exemplary. He certainly was a model for all of us and he held a high standard for all of us to follow,†Watts said.
In addition to the two projects unveiled Thursday, the city will also be endorsing a community initiative to commission a public art installation by artist Paul Slipper.
The planned piece, to be located in Cloverdale along 176A Street, will be a sculpture of Reid and will augment the three existing sculptures in the area that depict a Cloverdale pioneer farmer, a rodeo cowgirl and a BC Electric railway conductor.
The piece is expected to cost $70,000, to be raised by the community, but the city plans to support the fundraising initiative through marketing and promotion.
It is hoped the piece will be completed in time for the annual Cloverdale Blueberry Festival this August.