SHS hosts ceremony to honour four alumni

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Four Strathmore High School alumni were recognized during the Pillars of Strathmore High School ceremony, hosted Jan. 27 at the school. 

Doug Raycroft, principal of Strathmore High School, explained the practice of hosting Pillars of Strathmore High School ceremonies began in 2010 following the receipt of a donation from the Steve Rodehutskor family. 

“Steve was a graduate of Strathmore High School and he was a football player with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and he tragically passed away a little bit early in life,” said Raycroft. “That money from that donation from the family was used to get a scoreboard and score table for the gym and then also the money has been used to start this Pillars of Strathmore High School ceremony.”

Each year, the school typically adds two or three more alumni to the pillars to serve as examples to current and future students who pass through the halls. 

A committee consisting of both current and retired staff meets multiple times per year in order to come up with names of possible future pillars. 

The criteria used to decide which alumni to recognize is fluid, though each person selected has found some way to excel in their respective field. 

“Obviously there are a lot of doctors, but we do not want it to just be about people who got medical degrees. There are also some lawyers and then there are some athletes,” said Raycroft. “We try to not focus on one area, so we have had some people from different backgrounds, different sports, some, they have succeeded in movies … there is a wide variety of different things.”

The objective, he added, is to send a message to the student body that there are a wide variety of different ways to be successful in life.

This year’s Pillars of Strathmore High School include Blaire Anderson, Timothy Steeves, Jim Stevens, and Niki Flundra. 

Anderson currently works in Edmonton as an assistant professor at the University of Alberta working as a hepato-pancreo-biliary and transplant surgeon.

Timothy Steeves currently serves as the associate concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was a first violinist in the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. 

Jim Stevens was honoured for his achievements in rodeo. During his tenure at Olds College, he captured two Canadian College Championship titles in steer wrestling then went on to spend a decade with the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. 

Flundra built her career as a Liberty Horse trainer, performer, professional stunt woman, and specialty horse provider for the film industry. She has also worked in event production and pyrotechnics. 

“Our mission statement at our school is to inspire a community of accomplished and caring citizens … I think the message there is that any student can reach what they would consider excellence while being a good citizen,” said Raycroft. “I think most of the (award recipients) really hope that their message and what has happened to them can be inspiring in some way to other students and families.”