New scholarship to honour John Holdstock

Outdoorsman John Holdstock's son Kevin and wife Morag of West Kelowna dedicated a bench on the Mission Creek Greenway last weekend to their father and husband, who died in late 2010. A scholarship in his name has also been created.

judie Steeves/Capital News

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A new $1,000 scholarship honouring West Kelowna’s John Holdstock will be awarded for the first time this summer to a B.C. college or university student.

Holdstock died suddenly at his home on Christmas Day, 2010 at the age of 74.

He was best-known as a past president of the B.C. Wildlife Federation, director of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, past-chairman of the B.C. Conservation Foundation, president of the BCWF Political Action Alliance and chairman of the BCWF Firearms Committee, as well as serving as treasurer of the Okanagan Region Wildlife Heritage Fund Society up to his death.

His e-mails were all tagged with the advice: “The world is run by those who show up.”

A member of the Kelowna and District Fish and Game Club for more than 30 years, he took his own advice and ‘showed up’ to do his part to advance the cause of conservation and to oppose the federal firearms legislation.

In his younger years, he competed in the 1974 Pan Am games as a competitive target shooter, and then coached Olympic shooters.

Funds for the new award were raised by the many hunters, anglers and outdoors people who respected him, and included donations from the BCCF, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, the Nature Trust of B.C. and the ORWHFS as well as local fish and game clubs from around the province and private donations.

The BCCF welcomes additional funds.

Applicants for the John B. Holdstock Scholarship must be attending college or university, enrolled in the sciences or related outdoors field in the fall term, with a B average or better and must have participated in outdoors conservation  work involving fish, wildlife or habitat conservation in B.C.

For more details, go to the website at: bccf.com/public/JB_Holdstock_Scholarship.

Friends and family gathered Saturday on the Mission Creek Greenway near Gallaghers Canyon Golf Course, where he loved to golf, and dedicated a bench in his name.

jsteeves@kelownacapnews.com