After witnessing the City of Enderby miss out on a quarter of a million dollars for arena upgrades through Kraft Hockeyville, a Kelowna man is proposing to match the would-be windfall, with one condition.
Shortly after the Enderby Arena was abruptly shut down due to a malfunctioning refrigeration system in early January, the city was selected as a finalist for this year’s Kraft Hockeyville contest. Enderby was competing with three other Canadian cities for $250,000 in arena upgrades, but its Hockeyville bid came up short as Elliot Lake, ON, was announced the winner after 32 hours of public voting.
Colin Pritchard, 86, is a philanthropist living in Kelowna who was born and raised in Vernon. He and his wife Lois support a wide array of causes through The Colin and Lois Pritchard Foundation.
Through the foundation, the Pritchards have provided funding for equipment at the Kelowna General Hospital, funded medical research at UBC and Interior Health, and support up to a dozen different charities, mostly in the Okanagan.
And now, Pritchard wants to match the funds that Enderby missed out on in its Hockeyville bid.
Pritchard told The Morning Star that he wants to donate $260,000 to Enderby, which is equivalent to the funds provided to the winning Hockeyville community ($250,000 for arena upgrades, plus $10,000 for kids’ hockey equipment).
Pritchard has one condition for providing the funds: he wants the city to memorialize his uncle by renaming the Enderby Arena the John Pritchard Memorial Arena.
Enderby mayor Huck Galbraith said city council is currently discussing Pritchard’s proposal in camera. Discussions are taking place with different stakeholders about the prospect of renaming the Enderby Arena. Galbraith added the city has had ongoing discussions with Pritchard about his proposal.
Pritchard said his uncle John was a stalwart community member who grew up in nearby Grindrod and spent most of his life in Enderby.
John is the focus of an article in the July 27, 1983 edition of the Enderby Commoner newspaper. The article starts by saying John is “well known in this area for his service to the community and for being someone you can call on to help with anything you need.”
According to the article, John — who was born in Oak Lake, Man. — did swimming lessons and water safety training when he was young. Those skills were tested when at age 14, he saved two kids from drowning on two separate occasions. In 1929 he was awarded the bronze medal of the Royal Canadian Humane Association for his “gallantry in the two acts of bravery.”
John opened an automotive business in 1942, and soon purchased a school bus, which would be the beginning of a long journey. He went on to own five school busses and logged one million safe miles on the road, meaning he never once had an avoidable crash. According to the article, he was the first school bus driver in North America to accomplish such a feat.
John joined the Enderby Lions Club in 1951 “and has made many valuable contributions to the club and the community since that time,” the article states. One of the first Lions Club projects that he worked on was the building of the community’s swimming pool. He also played a role in building the local hospital.
“It’s hard to think of the Enderby Lions Club without thinking of John. The two seem to go hand in hand,” the article reads.
It concludes: “John Pritchard, a man of many talents and interests, and a great community worker. As one local man was overheard to say, ‘No one has contributed more to the community in general than John Pritchard.’”
Photos that can be found at the Enderby and District Museum and Archives show John posing with one of his school busses.
Pritchard pointed out that other rinks in the area have memorialized community leaders, such as the Pat Duke Memorial Arena in Lumby and the Art Holding Memorial Arena in Chase.
“Why not give (the arena) the name of a great community worker, such as uncle John, and what he’s done for Enderby all those years?” Pritchard said.
Galbraith said the Enderby Arena is set to reopen in the fall, but the city has had to borrow funds to complete the repairs.
READ MORE: Enderby comes up short in Kraft Hockeyville bid
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