Richard Smith served the then South Burnaby Men’s Club for 23 years. (Currently, South Burnaby Metro Club)

The 1949 Burnaby South grad played senior men’s fastball and rugby, before turning his hand to coaching that lasted well into the 1980s. Smith joined the SBMC in 1969 where he chaired boys’ baseball in 1972 before entering a long involvement in the community, including two six-year terms on the Burnaby Parks commission.

He was chair and general contractor of the volunteer-driven committee that brought outdoor lighting to Bonsor Park in 1974. He also brought in the first electronic timing equipment in Canada for the 1971 and ’73 Canada Games.

Smith represented the Parks Board on a committee that also started floodlight projects at Wesburn, Norburn and East Burnaby parks.