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The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada & Byron




Sir Edmund Hillary Presenting Byron Smith
with Achievement Award for summiting Mount Everest November 2001
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The Annual Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation Fund-raising
Gala Dinner and Auction at the Fairmont Palliser

Byron Smith Gala Chairman and MC
Director - The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation (SEHF)

Byron Smith, Zeke O'Connor SEHF Founder, Brigitte Fritz- Palliser GM,
Karen O'Connor SEHF President, Cliff Penner


Bob Sartor CEO Forzani Group & Gala Presenting Sponsor,
Dawa Nuru Sherpa, Ed Viesturs, Byron Smith


Jamie Smith, Zach Smith, Lanka Young, Lhakpa Kanchhi Sherpa
Byron Smith


Bob Sartor, Apa Sherpa (19 times Everest Summit)
Byron Smith, Ed Viesturs (completed all 14 8000 mtr Mountains)


Ang Dorje Sherpa (14 times Everest Summit) Kanchhi Sherpa, Mingma Tenji Sherpa (Summitted Everest with Byron), Byron Smith


SEHF Founder Zeke O'Connor, Laurie Skreslet (1st Cdn to summit Everest), Apa Sherpa, Dawa Nuru Sherpa
Ed Viesturs, Byron Smith


Gala Chairman, Master of Ceremony  Byron Smith


Yeti Mascot


The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada

One day during a trip to Nepal, Zeke O'Connor asked Sir Edmund "How can I, along with a few of my friends help you in your work in Nepal?"
Sir Edmund answered "Zeke, you can help me, help the Sherpa, help themselves, in a few areas - better education, better health care and in the area of reforestation".

It was on this request that The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation was started here in Canada - 1973


"Mission Statement"

The objectives of the Foundation are:

To receive funds for the purpose of helping preserve the culture and to improve the quality of life of the Sherpa People of Nepal by contributing to:
  • the development, improvement and maintenance of Health Services and facilities and the implementation of health education programs;
  • the availability and quality of education by assisting in the development and enhancement of literacy and education programs and construction of new schools;
  • the development and implementation of programs to address the  environmental concerns of the region such as reforestation, water purification and  pollution control;
  • the maintenance and restoration of historical and/ or cultural structures and monuments; scholarships and bursaries for persons of the Solu-Khumbu region of Nepal (Everest Region) who engage in studies or training programs directly connected with and/ or to further the objects of the Foundation;



Byron Smith's Involvement

Byron first became involved with the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation upon  returning from a Mount Everest Expedition in 1998. He was the only Canadian on a British Expedition and was stopped  270 vertical feet below the summit.        Go to www.byronsmith.com for more information

In the  fall of 1998 Byron met Zeke O'Connor ,the Foundations Founder, in Toronto, where he discussed his plans for returning to Mount Everest in the spring of 2000, leading and organizing his own expedition.

Byron's media partner would be CBC Television, they would broadcast live television 2  times a day for 3 straight months, making history in the process.

CBC and Byron developed an amazing website which was essential a virtual Everest Field Trip. It incorporated a K-12 lock step education program which is still being used around the world today.

Because of this educational aspect, The Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation endorsed Byron's Everest Expedition, making it only the second time they have done so. The first time was with in 1982, where they endorsed the   Canadian Expedition which put our  1st Canadian on the summit, Laurie Skreslet.

In 2005, Zeke O'Connor called up Byron and asked him if he would be interested in organizing a Fund-raising Gala Dinner and Auction in Calgary. Byron, being very honored to be asked, committed to organizing the event, and the rest is history. It is an annual event at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel.

In the Fall of 2008 Byron became a Director with the  Foundation and is an integral member in their Fund-raising initiatives.

From organizing the Fund-raising Gala's, Calgary Tower Rappels, Byron is passionate about helping the Sherpa people and committed to giving back to those that helped him achieve his goal of summitting Mount Everest.