Meet the Class Secretary of RMC ’58

E3161 Victoria Edwards (RMC 2003) spoke to 3959 Phil Smith’s (RMC 1958), who has been the Class Secretary of RMC’58 for almost fifty years. He has served on the RMC Club Executive and on the Board of the RMC Foundation.

e-veritas: What was your background at the college.

3959 Phil Smith’s (RMC 1958): My early years were spent in Preston, [now Cambridge], Ontario. In 1958 I graduated from the Royal Military College, Kingston, with Honours in Political Science, followed by a Degree in Politics and Economics from Queen’s University.

e-veritas: What did you do after the military college experience?;

Phil Smith: I served for several years as a paratroop officer with the Royal Canadian Regiment. I left the Regular Army to pursue graduate studies in International Affairs at the University of Western Ontario, where I had been awarded a Teaching Fellowship. In the mid-sixties I joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation [CBC]. The ensuing twenty years with the CBC were spent in a variety of assignments at both divisional and corporate levels. Following two years as Chief of Staff to the CBC President, I was assigned to the Corporation’s Department of International Relations as Head-Broadcasting Development. I was responsible for launching and developing the CBC’s consulting services to broadcasting organizations in lesser developed countries around the world. In cooperation with international agencies such as Unesco, The World Bank, The Asia Development Bank, etc. over one hundred projects were completed in the Caribbean, Asia, India and Africa. For almost ten years during this period, I lectured in the evening sessions of the Management Development Programme at Algonquin College, Ottawa. I also lectured for a number of years on International Communications in the Senior Executive Programme at the RCMP’s Canadian Police College in Ottawa. As a FIFA qualified referee, I spent many hours on the soccer fields of Ontario.

In 1985 I left the CBC to work as a consultant to the Ministerial Task Force on Broadcasting Policy and in 1986 joined the Federal Department of Communications as its Senior Advisor-Broadcasting Policy. With the support of the Department I continued to undertake assignments in broadcasting development for international agencies in such countries as Nepal, Turkey, India, and throughout the Caribbean. During this period, I completed an M.A. in International Economics at Carleton University, Ottawa.

Two years later I formed Hoyt International Ltd, providing consulting services to governments and broadcasting organizations in developing countries, on the application of broadcasting to national development and education. I am internationally recognized as an expert in the application of broadcasting to national development.

What are you doing now?

Phil Smith: In the late nineties, my wife, Mary Elizabeth and I moved to the Comox Valley to enjoy more self-directed pursuits such as skiing, woodworking and travel.

I continued to parachute with the International Association of Airborne Veterans until I was in my mid-sixties, jumping from military aircraft at airshows all over the world.

Mary Elizabeth was one of the founders of The Comox Valley ElderCollege [CVEC], providing learning for seniors. I have been involved with Elder-College since its inception; I have taught both Basic Mac and Intermediate Mac courses for several years. We have three children: Karen, a lawyer in private practice in Edmonton; Craig, a builder on Vancouver Island; and Matthew, a vascular surgeon in Abbotsford, BC.