RRU honours philanthropic trio

Saunders' excitement at being gifted the award doubled when he discovered he shared the guest of honour spot with former B.C. Lt.-Gov. Iona Campagnolo and renowned artist and naturalist Robert Bateman who were both conferred honourary degrees June 18.

"I had butterflies, really," Saunders said of his esteemed company. "I didn't mind speaking but following Iona and Robert, anyone would get butterflies."

The university award was presented to Saunders for his altruistic community involvement.

"It's quite an honour for me," Sanders said as graduates and their families milled about the grounds of Hatley Castle.

Despite his butterflies, the Saunders Subaru dealership owner stepped to the podium to inspire some of the day's 686 graduates - not in business but in philanthropy. "You make time," he said of his advice for graduates and the impact they can make in their own communities. "You'll never regret it."

Case in point, he noted, is the Saunders Family Foundation which was launched in March to keep local sports accessible to kids who want to play in Greater Victoria.

"I enjoy doing it," Saunders said of his passion for volunteering. "You get such satisfaction out of it."

A leader herself who achieved many firsts, it was only fitting that Iona Campagnolo was asked to provide parting words to the school's leadership and management graduates.

Upon receipt of her honourary university degree, the province's first female lieutenant governor urged her audience to use their leadership skills "not just for personal profit, but also to honour, enhance and enrich the society you share."

In addition to having been a radio broadcaster, Campagnolo was founding chair of the Fraser Basin Council, first chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia, first female president of the Liberal Party of Canada and the country's first minister of state for fitness and amateur sport.

"These students aren't traditional students so they hardly need advice on how to grow up," she said smiling.

The degree conferment also further cemented the relationship artist Robert Bateman has with the school that is building an art centre in his name, housing $11 million worth of his original art.

"In a sense it's like a marriage," he said. "Being with Royal Roads is a marriage made in heaven and the birth of our first child will be the Bateman Centre."

Quoting everyone from Mark Twain to mafia boss John Gotti before his graduating audience, Bateman extolled the virtues of healthy relationships, procrastinating when it comes to worrying and the power of aesthetics.

"You and I know that Royal Roads University is the most beautiful campus in the world," he said. "I hope that you realize that this aesthetic moral force has infused your being in subliminal good ways that will last you for the rest of your life. This aesthetic moral force will be, I expect, an important aspect of the Bateman Centre - the setting, the architecture and perhaps even the art."