C.B.H.F.
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Class of 1994
Frank Griffiths, founder and Chairman of Western International Communications Limited (WIC).
Frank began his career as an accountant and was forty before he entered broadcasting. WIC began in 1956 with the purchase of AM radio station CKNW in New Westminster, B.C. Added shortly thereafter were two stations in Winnipeg. A major move into television came with the purchase of two stations including the flagship station of the BCTV network, CHAN-TV.
By the end of the 1980’s Frank had successfully assembled Canada’s largest publicly traded broadcasting company. His interests included television, radio, Superchannel, the Family Channel, and pay-per-view services. He was personally involved in bringing the first televised fund raiser to British Columbia. Griffiths became a pioneer in the field of satellite broadcast signal delivery when WIC founded CANCOM, Canadian Satellite Communications Inc.
In the mid-seventies his company purchased the Vancouver Canucks Hockey Club. An active and dedicated participant in the NHL, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.
Frank was a driving force in Canadian broadcasting for more than three decades. His success was attributed to his ability to allow people to participate. He was fond of saying, “Nobody works for me, people work with me.”