Thompson Rivers University has honoured Clearwater's Skye Buck with a Lifetime Achievement Award (posthumously).
The presentation took place during TRU's annual awards ceremony on April 11 in the TRU Grand Hall.
Skye, his wife Courtney, and their unborn child tragically lost their lives in a traffic accident in December of 2012.
Their vehicle wen out of control and off Highway 5 approximately 17 km south of Clearwater and slid into the North Thompson River.
Skye Buck was a teacher at Clearwater Secondary School while Courtney Buck taught at Raft River Elementary.
Skye had graduated in 2007 from TRU with a Bachelor of Science and then returned to obtain a Bachelor of Education in 2010. After that he returned to teach in his home town of Clearwater.
In its presentation announcement, the university stated that Skye was not only an impressive educator and mentor, but also an exceptional athlete. In 2004 he was the University College of the Cariboo Male Athlete of the Year, BCCAA Player of the Year, CCAA College Player of the Year, CCAA All-Canadian, and was part of the bronze medal winning team at Nationals. During his time in a UCC uniform he won gold, silver and bronze medals. After completing his eligibility with UCC he went on to play professional basketball in London for the Essex Leopards in England.
In Clearwater, he worked and coached boys and girls volleyball and basketball. He wanted to make sure every athlete at every level was given a chance. Skye Buck was a community leader in Clearwater where he ran an after school program for at-risk students and made every student feel accepted.
It was his life goal to be as good as he could be in every aspect of his life and he will be dearly missed by all those whose lives he touched. His legacy lives on as the community of Clearwater was recently the Grand Prize winner in the Aviva Community Fund – Courtney and Skye Buck Memorial Courtyard at Raft River Elementary.