Providing Province-wide Access
to Scholarships for Students
The Scholarship Society is registered under the B.C. Societies Act, and is a federally registered charity led by an 11-member board of directors. The board is governed by a constitution, bylaws and statement of founding principles.
Collectively and individually, the Board members bring vision, integrity and commitment to providing access to post-secondary education.
Hugh Gordon, Chair
Mike Apsey, Director
Ike Barber, Director
John Chenoweth, Director
Jim Crawford, Director
Frank Gelin, Past Chair
Tony Loughran, Director
Dawn Minty, Director
Janice Nakamura, Director
Peter Podovinikoff, Director
Larry Ross, Director
Hugh Gordon, Chair - Member and Director since May 10, 2010
Hugh Gordon, FCA, LL.D., was a tax partner with KPMG in Calgary, Toronto, Victoria and Vancouver. Hugh was the first member appointed to the Royal Roads University Board of Governors, and chaired the board and served as the university’s chancellor from RRU’s inception in July 1995 until his retirement from the board in September 2003. As well, he has consulted to the Government of British Columbia on various fiscal issues and as a negotiator, including acting as the Assistant Chief Negotiator for the province during the historic Nisga’a land claim and self-government negotiations.
Hugh Gordon has served on civic, charitable and business boards and commissions, including the Greater Victoria Economic Development Commission, the Victoria Foundation, both the National and the B.C. and Yukon Division boards of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in Canada and the boards of B.C. Rail, the British Columbia Wine Authority and the University of Victoria. He is a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in recognition of his service to the community.
Mike Apsey, Vice-Chair of Awards, Irving K. Barber Scholarship - Member since November 2006
Mike graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1961 with a degree in Forestry. Upon graduation he joined the B.C. Department of Industrial Development, Trade, and Commerce. From 1963 to 1978 he held positions with MacMillan Bloedel Limited; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Council of Forest Industries of B.C.; and F.L.C. Reed and Associates before becoming Deputy Minister of Forests for the Province of British Columbia in 1978. During his tenure with the Ministry, he also served as Vice-Chairman of the B.C. Deputy Ministers' Committee on Economic Development. In 1984, after six years of service with the Province of British Columbia, he became President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Forest Industries, a position he held until his retirement in 1998. During his career Mike has worked extensively on assignment overseas in almost 45 countries world-wide. He has participated in many regional, national and international forest and forest sector initiatives, reviews and conferences and has been a Board member of numerous organizations. In 2002, Mike was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.
Irving K. Barber, BSF, RPF, LLD (UNBC), LLD (UBC), OBC, OC - Member since June 2005
Irving (Ike) Barber graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Forestry (BSF) Degree in 1950 from the University of British Columbia. In 1952, he qualified as a Professional Registered Forester and has spent all his working life in the forest resource industry; working with BC's communities and its people.
In 1978, at the age of 55, Mr. Barber was instrumental in forming Slocan
Forest Products Ltd. with the highly leveraged purchase of one sawmill
and a timber base in Southern British Columbia. Under Mr. Barber's
stewardship of over 20 years, Slocan grew to be a dominant public forest
products company in Canada.
In 1995, Mr. Barber was awarded the Forest Excellence Award in
Communications in recognition of his financing and publication of the
popular book The Working Forest of British Columbia.
In 1997, Mr. Barber was presented with the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur
of the Year Award for the Pacific Region.
1999 saw Ike named the Distinguished Forester of the Year by the
Registered Professional Foresters Association. Also in 1999, Mr. Barber
gifted $500,000 to the University of Northern BC to establish an
Enhanced Forest Laboratory.
In 2001, Mr. Barber donated $2.5 million dollars to the University of
British Columbia to establish the Irving K. Barber Diabetes Research
Fund, as well as to establish the Ike Barber Human Islet Cell Transplant
Laboratory located at the Vancouver General Hospital.
In 2002, Mr. Barber was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Law Degree from
the University of Northern BC and a similar Degree from the University
of BC in November 2002.
On October 3, 2002, Mr. Barber made a commitment of $20 million to the
University of British Columbia to spearhead the construction of a $60
million Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the UBC campus. Phase I of
this facility was officially opened October 3, 2005, and is an
evolutionary concept of integrating traditional library functions, as
well as distributing and extending learning opportunities throughout the
province and further on to the world.
In 2003, Mr. Barber was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame
and awarded the Order of British Columbia in June of the same year.
In October of 2004 Mr. Barber became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
It has been, and it continues to be, Mr. Barber's focus to direct
funding to projects that will have the likelihood of strengthening BC
and the quality of life for British Columbian residents and beyond.
Mr. Barber was born February 14, 1923, has a very supportive wife, three
children, nine grand children and fourteen great-grand children.
John Chenoweth, Vice-Chair Communications - Member since May 2009
John
has worked with Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) for two
years as the Dean of Instruction and Distributed Learning. As a Native
Indian Teacher Education Program (NITEP) grad with a Master of Arts in
Educational Leadership, John has been involved in First Nations
education at both the K-12 and Post-Secondary levels for his entire
career. His prior roles have included Elementary School Principal and
District Principal for First Nations Education. He is a member of the
Upper Nicola Indian Band in the Nicola Valley, and loves to work with
kids and interact with them within the community. When time allows, John
still likes to get back into the class room and teach a few courses
with NVIT.
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Jim Crawford, Secretary - Member since May 2010
James (Jim) Crawford, FCA, became a CA in 1972. After articling with Clarkson Gordon in Victoria and Vancouver, he moved into a controllership position in the construction industry. Crawford set up his own CA practice in Victoria in 1979, and his brother-in-law David Paterson, FCA, joined him the following year. Together they built Crawford Paterson Campbell & McNeill into one of the largest mid-sized firms on Vancouver Island, where Jim continues to practise.
In the community, Crawford has been active for many years with the Victoria Jazz Society, and has participated in various fundraising efforts for the Vikes men’s soccer program and related athletic financial support programs. He has also volunteered as a coach and board member for the Gordon Head Soccer Association, as treasurer of St. Michael’s University School, and as a member of the board of the Victoria Symphony. In recent years, Jim’s six-piece swing band “Mile Zero” has played exclusively for non-profit fundraising events.
Frank Gelin, Past Chair - Member since June 2005
Frank is the Executive Director and Co-Chair of the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer. The mandate of the British Columbia Council on Admissions and Transfer is to facilitate admission, articulation and transfer arrangements among B.C. post-secondary institutions. The Council's role includes coordinating articulation and transfer arrangements between public and private post-secondary institutions. The Council is funded by the Ministry of Advanced Education. Frank lives in Vancouver.
Tony Loughran,
Vice Chair Nominations - Member since April 2008
Biography to come.
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Dawn Minty, Director - Member since February 2009
Dawn is the Executive Director of the Colleges and Universities Branch, a
department of the Post Secondary Education Division at the Ministry of
Advanced Education and Labour Market Development. The Post Secondary
Education Division manages the overall funding and program co-ordination
for the public post-secondary education system and provides
co-ordination and support to the private post-secondary education system
in the province.
Dawn also serves as Past President and Chair of the Nomination Committee
on the Board of Directors of Skills Canada, a not-for-profit
organization which works to promote careers in skilled trades and
technologies to Canadian youth.
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Janice Nakamura, Vice Chair of Awards, One World Scholarship - Member since February 2006
Janice is the Director of the Learning Programs Branch of the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, which is situated in the Student and Learning Division. The Learning Programs Branch provides leadership, policy and programs to support post secondary institutions in the delivery of effective programs and services in the areas of Aboriginal Post Secondary Education, Adult Literacy, Developmental programs and Essential Skills.
Janice holds a Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Victoria.
Peter Podovinikoff, Director - Member since May 2009
Peter is a Certified General Accountant (CGA) and resident of Surrey, BC. In 2005, Peter retired as the President of Envision Credit Union after spending over 40 years in leadership positions in the credit union system. Peter currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Envision Credit Union, and has retired as Chair on the Board of the Co-operators Insurance Group. His other community service includes the board member of Kwantlen Polytechnic University Foundation (Past Chair) and Rotary Club of Ladner (current President), among others.
His public service involvement includes serving on the Economic Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Premier’s Advisory Council on Literacy.
Larry Ross, Director - Member since May 2010
Larry Ross is an Associate Partner in KPMG’s Audit practice in Victoria with more than 30 years of experience. Larry has provided a broad range of professional services to various public sector clients including school districts, municipalities, hospitals, universities and not-for-profit organizations, His clients include six School Districts, Camosun College, Royal Roads University, United Way of Greater Victoria, Municipality of Saanich, Victoria Harbour Authority, Oak Bay Kiwanis Pavilion, and the Queen Alexandra Foundation.
Larry is Victoria’s acknowledged leader in the implementation of not-for-profit accounting standards. He has authored opinions on government and not-for-profit accounting and has assisted numerous not-for-profit organizations, municipalities and government business enterprises in the implementation of the NPO accounting standards. Larry was appointed as an advisor to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants’ committee to consider all aspects of not-for-profit accounting, which has resulted in recommended changes to the existing guidance.