Honorary Captain (Ret'd) Cedric Steele, MSM, CD

Honorary Captain (Navy) Cedric Steele, MSM, CD has an outstanding reputation in business, having built a successful real estate career in Greater Victoria.

His legacy is equally defined by his commitment to community service and Canada's navy.

A resident of Victoria since 1976, Steele is president of Cedric Steele & Associates Ltd., a real estate company with commercial and residential holdings in Greater Victoria he founded in 1972. He also owns and operates the Prospect Lake Golf Course in Victoria.

Steele has served as president of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, chair of the Board of Governors of Glenlyon-Norfolk School, and a board member of the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health. He also served six years as a member of the Victoria Police Board where he initiated the Crime Stoppers program. He sat on the executive of Tourism Victoria and on the advisory board to the Faculty of Business at the University of Victoria. Steele currently sits on the advisory board for the Salvation Army.

From 2002 to 2010, Steele served as Honorary Consul for the Republic of Latvia in British Columbia and, in 2009, was named co-chair of the Fellows Council of Royal Roads University.

Since 1994, Steele has worked closely with the Canadian Forces Liaison Council, promoting a closer relationship between the business community and the Armed Forces. In 1997 he was appointed Honorary Captain of the Navy. Steele was awarded the U.S. Navy and Marine Corp. Achievement Medal in 1999 and Gold Star in lieu of a second achievement medal in 2000 for his work with the aircraft carriers USS John C. Stennis (CVN74) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN72). He was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration Medal in 2009 for 12 years of service to the Canadian Navy.

He was instrumental in the placement of the navy's Homecoming Statue in Victoria's Inner Harbour as part of the Canadian Navy's 100^th anniversary celebrations in 2010. The following year, he received the Meritorious Service Medal for his involvement with the Canadian Navy.

In 2002, Steele received the Golden Jubilee Medal for contributions to his community and was admitted as a Serving Member of The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. In April 2011 he was recognized by the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce with the awarding of the Governors' Lifetime Achievement Award.