Max
Max used to love watching Heartbeat, settling down in front of the TV on Saturday evenings to see the goings-on in Aidensfield. Not so unusual, except that Max was a dog! As his owner, Dave, explains, the little Sheltie/ Spaniel cross would sit riveted to the screen following every move of Alfred, Claude Greengrass’s pooch in the early days of the series.
Max, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 17, wasn’t the only fan in the house. His “human friend” Dave is a longtime Knowledge Partner who feels strongly about the importance of supporting Knowledge. “I find it very disheartening to hear that of the thousands of BC residents who regularly enjoy watching Knowledge programs, less than 3% actually support this valuable service financially. If every current viewer gave just a few dollars, Knowledge could do so much more amazing programming and we would all benefit!”
Dave demonstrates his appreciation of Knowledge in other ways, too: since 1995 he has been an active director of the central Okanagan Re-broadcast Society, a non-profit volunteer-based organization that relays Knowledge’s broadcast signal from atop Ellison Ridge (SpionKopje) to residents of the Central Okanagan who may not have access to cable or satellite services. Dave estimates that more than 3,000 viewers are regularly tuned in to their signal.
While the work mainly involves maintaining the equipment and acquiring funding, Dave has had to get his hands dirty on occasion, like the time he and his fellow volunteer, Paul, dug a 1/4-mile trench up the side of the mountain to lay a transmission cable. Now there’s a dedicated viewer!
When Dave decided to set up an Endowed Fund as his legacy to Knowledge, he named it in honour of his beloved pet. He explains that not only was the name an obvious choice, so was the establishment of an Endowed Fund. “I like the idea of the money being there in perpetuity. Hopefully as it [the overall Knowledge Endowment] builds and grows, it will provide a substantial percentage of funding that Knowledge needs for the future.”
Dave does have one thing to confess: “When Alfred was later replaced, I’m afraid Max totally lost interest in watching Heartbeat. And Heartbeat certainly lost one of its most devoted fans!”
