OUR BOARD

PATRON
The Honourable
Lincoln M. Alexander
P.C., C.C., K.S.T.J.,
O.ONT.C.D., B.A., LL.B., Q.C.

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
W.F. (Zeke) O'Connor

ASSOCIATE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Robert Kolbuc

OFFICERS
Karen O'Connor, President
Byron Smith, VP Marketing
Robin D. Walker, Secretary
Dr. Kami T. Sherpa,
(Senior Medical Officer)
Robert Braiden, Treasurer

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS
Dr. Joan Ford
Peter W. Webster

DIRECTORS
Robert Braiden
Philip Crawley
Francisco Gomez
Peter Hillary
Patti Hull
Cathy McConnell
Nima McElhinney
Karen O'Connor
Herb Paterson
C. Richard Sharpe
Dr. Kami T. Sherpa
Phurba S. Sherpa
Byron Smith
Robin D. Walker
Dr. Robert Zimmerman

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
Barbara Anderson
Brian Baxter
Michael Benton
Lynn Hurley
Edward Lorriman

__________________

* Photo of the late
Sir Edmund Hillary by
Pat and Rosemarie Keough

Calgary Dinner 

The 3rd Annual Gala Black Tie Dinner in support of The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation was held at the historic Fairmont Palliser Hotel, Calgary

“A Tribute to the Life and Times of Sir Edmund Hillary”, was the theme for the evenings Dinner and Auction fundraising event, Presented by Coast Mountain Sports, the evenings major sponsor.

 Peter Hillary, son of Sir Edmund, was the evenings keynote speaker. Peter has summited Everest twice, is an author, speaker, and adventure who has climbed all of the Seven Summits. Peter gave a heartfelt tribute as he spoke about the life and times of his father and family. He carried the audience with him on every twist, turn and family adventure as he took us from Auckland NZ, Nepal, to the top of Everest in 1953, up the Ganges River, to the South and North Pole and beyond. He spoke about his father’s friendship with Zeke O’Connor and their life working with the Sherpa People. The spellbound audience were with him every step of the way.

 Special guest speakers included:

• Zeke O’Connor, Past President and Founder of the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation,
• Karen O’Connor, President of the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation,
• Kate Lackey, New Zealand’s high Commissioner to Canada,
• Apa Sherpa, recognized as one of the greatest living mountaineers, Apa has participated in 20 Everest expeditions and has reached the summit a Guinness book record of 18 times.
• Ang Dorje Sherpa, has summited Everest 12 times. He along with Mingma Tenji Sherpa were part of the Byron Smith’s May 2000 climb.
• Dawa Steven Sherpa, mountaineer at the age of 23 has already climbed Mt.Everest twice, was given the Sir Edmund Hillary Achievement Award.
• Mingma Tenji Sherpa, Everest Summiter
• Laurie Skreslet, the first Canadian to Summit Everest in 1982,
• Eric Johnson, star of the CBC mini Series ,
• Mimi Stuart, known as the “Artist of Energy”  donated painted her creation of Sir Edmund Hillary titled “Touch the Sky”
• Arthur Boyer (Hillary), Grandson of Sir Edmund Hillary,
• Bob Sartor, CEO of the Forzani Group and Coast Mountain Sports, the Calgary Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation Gala Dinner and Auction Presenting Sponsor,
• Byron Smith, MC and Gala Chairman, Summited Mount Everest in May 2000 and has since climbed all the “Seven Summits”, the highest mountains on each continent.

 Byron introduced Karen O’Connor, President of the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation and her father Zeke O’Connor, the founder and now Executive Director of the Foundation, a long time friend of Sir Edmund Hillary.

 Zeke introduced a special film made for this year’s Gala dinners commemorating Sir Edmund’s life and accomplishments. The funds raised at the Gala dinners in Calgary and Toronto go to support, Education and Literacy, funding the Kunde Hospital – the main source of healthcare for the Sherpa people of the Everest region in Nepal, Medical Scholarships and Reforestation projects.

Silent and Live auction items from Nepal and around the world included:

Original oil painting of Sir Edmund by world renown expressionist artist Mimi Stuart, Robert Bateman original painting, Jewelry, Hand-loomed Tibetan Carpets, Mountain Adventure Packages, Clothing, Five-Star Hotel packages, Rocky Mountaineer Gold Leaf Train Travel, All Season Adventure Packages, delete - Summer and Winter Sport Packages, Authentic Nepalese Artifacts, Trek to Everest Base Camp Trip for two, Signed artifacts by Sir Edmund, and much more. 

The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation sincerely and gratefully acknowledges the participation, contributions and support by all who contribute to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal.

Toronto Dinner

“A Tribute to the Life of Sir Edmund Hillary” was the theme for last evening’s Gala Black Tie Dinner held at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Among the more than 200 guests for this annual event was Guest Speaker, Peter Hillary. Peter is the son of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Mount Everest. He has completed over 40 mountaineering expeditions, including Mount Everest twice. An adventurer in his own right, Peter has climbed all of the Seven Summits – the highest mountains on the world’s seven continents. Peter paid a heartfelt tribute to his father and spoke about the many wonderful and adventurist times he shared with his sister Sarah.

Among the dignitaries were The Honorable Lincoln M. Alexander, the former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and Kate Lackey, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Canada.

Karen O’Connor, president of The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation welcomed everyone and introduced her father, Zeke O’Connor, Founder and Executive Director of the Foundation. Zeke a long time friend of Sir Edmund started the Foundation, located here in Toronto in 1976. Since then the Foundation with the generous support from CIDA, (The Canadian International Development Agency in Ottawa), Sears Canada Inc., Tilley Endurables and the many companies and individuals that have supported the annual fundraisers and given generously their donations, have helped to provide healthcare, education and reforestation initiatives in Nepal.

Zeke introduced a special tribute film made for this year's Gala Dinners commemorating Sir Edmund’s life and accomplishments and brought tears to many. The Sherpa Community showed their appreciation to Sir Edmund for the work he has done to provide a better life for those living in the Solo khumbu region of Nepal.

The evening concluded with an awards presentation, live and silent auctions with all the proceeds going to fund the Kunde Hospital in Nepal.