Alan H. Emmott

Reeve/Mayor of Burnaby: 1958-1968

Alderman: 1971; 1974-1987

Awarded Status of Freeman: March 22, 1993 (Presentation Made March 26, 1993)

Alan Emmott once said "What happens in one community affects all other communities. They are all inter-dependent and they are all connected." From these two simple sentences, it is easy to see how this life-long public servant has come to embody the idea of thinking globally but acting locally. Once dubbed "Mr. Burnaby" by friends, Alan has the distinction of being the longest serving member of Burnaby City Council, with over 25 years of service, first as Reeve (Mayor) from 1958-1968 and then as a Councillor for the year 1971 and then again from 1974-1987.

Born in 1921, Alan learned early about the value of serving the community as he and his family lived all over BC to facilitate his father’s job as a member of the British Columbia Police Force. Alan attended his senior years of high school in the community of Nelson and after graduation returned to Victoria in 1940 to take teacher training at the Provincial Normal School. During these early days of the war, Alan saw his older brother join the Royal Canadian Air Force and he began to feel the need to do his part for his country. When he finished normal school in 1941, Alan moved to Vancouver and joined the Air Force and was posted to Brandon, Manitoba.

Next followed months of training at air force bases throughout Canada until he earned his stripes as a navigator and received his first overseas posting at the Advanced Flying Unit in Dumfries, Scotland. From there, Alan was trained with the Pathfinder Force Night Training Unit and became a member of the newly formed Royal Air Force No. 635 Squadron. Alan completed two tours with the 635 Squadron – a total of 56 operations – for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal in 1945.

Alan was soon given the post of Liaison Officer at Exeter and he celebrated VE Day at Exeter Cathedral and then VJ Day at Trafalgar Square before returning to Vancouver where he resumed his studies and attended the University of British Columbia. He became a high school teacher, settled with his wife in Burnaby and raised three children. Not content to rest on his already distinguished career, Alan soon embarked on a new path, and never one to start small, he ran for the office of Reeve in Burnaby and was elected in December of 1957. Inaugurated in January of 1958, Alan went on to lead this city for the next decade.

It would be impossible to sum up in a few sentences the contributions Alan made to our community during his time as Reeve and as our first Mayor. Note in 1968, the Municipal Act was amended, altering the title of "Reeve" to "Mayor" and "Councillor" to "Alderman". Some of the highlights of his service during this time include the establishment of Burnaby’s first Sister City relationship with the City of Kushiro, Japan (a relationship that marked its 40th Anniversary in 2005); assisting in the selection and development of the Simon Fraser University site in Burnaby; initiating Burnaby’s first Park Reservation Bylaw in 1958; and also becoming a strong supporter and eventual director of the newly formed Greater Vancouver Regional District.

Alan's list of service has only grown longer through the years, even after he ended his tenure as Mayor, he returned as an Alderman in 1971 and then again from 1974-1987, running as a member of the Burnaby Voters’ Association. During this time he was a Director of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, a Member and Director of the Regional District Parks Committee, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Columbia College, Vice President of the Canadian Federation of Mayors and Municipalities, President of the Union of BC Municipalities, President of the Greater Vancouver Visitors and Convention Bureau, Senator of Simon Fraser University, President of the New Vista Senior Citizens’ Housing Society, Chairman of the Central Ratepayers Association, Director of the Greater Vancouver Regional District Hospital Committee, and a Director of the Urban Transit Authority.

In 1983, Alan was recognized for his contributions to the City and to Simon Fraser University when he was presented with an Honorary Degree from that institution and ten years later, in 1993, he was bestowed the title of Freeman of the City of Burnaby. Appropriately enough, Alan was the first person given the title "Freeman of the City of Burnaby" – prior to 1992, Burnaby had been a "District Municipality" but the status changed during our Centennial Year 1992 to make it a "City".

In 2002, the City of Burnaby paid further tribute to Alan by renaming the former Burnaby South Secondary site as the Alan Emmott Community Centre. It would be hard to imagine another Burnaby citizen who could deserve that honour more than Alan Emmott.