It was on a South African farm where Cedric Steele adopted his dedication to taking care of others.
B次元官网网址淚 was taught very early to look after all those in your village, because they were really your responsibility,B次元官网网址� Steele says nearly 60 years later, in the office heB次元官网网址檚 occupied for 30 years, overlooking VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Inner Harbour.
B次元官网网址淭hat stayed with me all my life.B次元官网网址�
SteeleB次元官网网址檚 biography contains no shortage of projects heB次元官网网址檚 taken on B次元官网网址� and asked why he became involved with the multitude of boards, committees and non-profits, his answer always comes back to service.
As a member of the local Salvation ArmyB次元官网网址檚 advisory board, he helped improve the organizationB次元官网网址檚 Christmas kettles campaign by encouraging businesses to become corporate sponsors.
Noticing a TV commercial for an initiative called Crime Stoppers in Hawaii in the 1980s, he brought the idea back to the Victoria police board and helped launch Crime StoppersB次元官网网址� local branch.
His involvement on the board for the Queen Alexandra Centre for ChildrenB次元官网网址檚 Health was slightly more personal, having lost the use of his left arm to polio at age 12, he adds, B次元官网网址淚 thought I would like to serve and help the children.B次元官网网址�
Outside his many community-minded endeavours, Steele has two businesses. He has owned and operated Prospect Lake Golf Course since 1974 and is president of Cedric Steele Realty, which he founded in 1972.
That latter business, located on Wharf Street and lending Steele his stunning harbour-view office, also gave him the means to dedicate himself to so many extra-curricular activities, he says.
B次元官网网址淚 always believed if you would keep a property for 50 years and not sell it, I would be in a position now where my family doesnB次元官网网址檛 have to worry about money.B次元官网网址�
Steele also took on the task of B次元官网网址渂uilding a bridgeB次元官网网址� between the navy and the rest of the Victoria community.
B次元官网网址淚 wanted to reopen this dialogue because I hear (military) people say it was uncomfortable coming downtown because of the way they were treated. That was probably 20 years ago. Now I hear people say theyB次元官网网址檙e proud to be in their uniforms.B次元官网网址�
He was named Honorary Captain of CFB Esquimalt in 1997 and in that time, sailed on several warships, and brought the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to Canadian waters.
Steele and retired Rear Admiral Ken Summers co-chaired a committee that gathered enough funding to install the Homecoming statue at Ship Point for the navyB次元官网网址檚 100th anniversary.
The committee raised enough money to install a second statue there. That installation happens May 1.
Despite making community service a priority, Steele says he has a mandate on caring for those closest to him. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 like the ripples of a pebble in a pond B次元官网网址� the first circle is family, then thereB次元官网网址檚 all the people outside your family who are related to you,B次元官网网址� he says.
Next, thereB次元官网网址檚 the small scale-village of acquaintances and friends, and finally, the larger village that encompasses the whole city.
The 67-year-old adds heB次元官网网址檚 got about 20 years of service left in him.
B次元官网网址淚 think life is a runway. IB次元官网网址檓 probably three-quarters of the way down this runway of life and I still see some things in the distance I want to do.B次元官网网址�
ecardone@vicnews.com
