Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society president Bill Lloyd has high praise for the society’s employees.
The mission of the CCCS is to educate and support youth and work with the community to enjoy and protect the Cariboo Chilcotin.
To that end, Lloyd said Mary Forbes, Jenny Howell, Oliver Berger, Amber Gregg and Brianna van de Wijingaard are energetic, enthusiastic and do a great job.
“They have such a passion for trying to make ours a better community.”
While he likes helping in any way he can, he chuckled and said sometimes he feels like he is “a bit past his due date” and would like to see some energetic young people take over.
Nevertheless, he has been with CCCS for 10 years and said it is a great organization to be part of.
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Lloyd’s roots in Williams Lake run deep where he was born in 1948.
His paternal grandfather moved to Williams Lake the year before to work as a bookkeeper and his mom’s side of the family moved to the lakecity from Vancouver in the early 60s. His maternal grandfather helped build the first school in 70 Mile House.
Williams Lake Building Supply which is Home Hardware now, was started by Lloyd’s grandfather and an uncle.
Garth Lloyd, his father bought into Lake Hardware with Boyd Halfnights in 1954 and remained there until the late 70s until it was sold to Butch Rife and became a sporting goods store. It was where Bell, Broom and Cauldron on Oliver Street is now.
When he was growing up the family lived on Sunset Drive where Garth built a home.
“A log house my grandfather lived in nearby is still there today,” Lloyd said.
Eventually the family moved to North Lakeside in 1958 when Garth brought property that became Amber Ridge subdivision and Lloyd lived there until he graduated from high school.
He attended Williams Lake Elementary, Marie Sharpe Elementary, Anne Stevenson Junior Secondary schools and was in the first graduating class from Columneetza Secondary School in 1967,
“We only went there for about two months before graduation. That’s when they finished the school.”
He studied one year of sciences at the University of British Columbia and then moved over to the British Columbia Institute of Technology for a two-year mining course.
In 1970, he married his high school sweetheart Leslie, well known in the community as a potter.
Lelsie spent some of her childhood living in Dog Creek where her father was a mechanic at the airport with the Department of Transportation.
After working in mining for one year in B.C. and two years in Australia, Lloyd and Leslie returned to the Cariboo and he went to work for Stu Kallman, a local building contractor who had worked for during high school.
He also worked for contractor Ron Mohler for a couple of years, before going on his own, which he’s continued to do ever since.
“I’ve built homes, barns, shops and done a bit of commercial work and renovations. Everything on a smaller scale. I think the most I ever had was four employees at one time. Just a small potatoes kind of contractor.”
Today he continues to work for Canuck Properties looking after a block of buildings where Canada Post is.
He and Leslie have two children — Tim and Ruth.
The day the Tribune took his photograph, he had just finished making some oat, chocolate and nut cookies for their two granddaughters.
At their home on the 168 Mile Hill Road, the Lloyds have three acres on a secluded lot and have three horses.
In the past they have done quite a bit of riding and he enjoyed going into the mountains doing pack trips with friends.
“Leslie and I will go out and ride in the Chilcotin and camp overnight,” he added.
He enjoys fly fishing and spending time at their cabin on Horsefly Lake, especially in the spring and fall.
Aside from participating with the CCCS, he has been an active volunteer with the Williams Lake Hospice Society for eight or nine years, which has been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He’s volunteered at the Station House Gallery painting the outside of the building and renovating the washroom, painting the Potato House and helping with projects at Scout Island.
“I volunteer mostly for the green people,” he said. “I guess I volunteer in things I’m interested in and things I want to support.”
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