By his own admission, Keith Britz used to curl like a fiend and has long been rabid about hockey. Colourful words to describe the passion that he has for both sports. However, while admittedly he’s very sports minded, he’s far from an athlete. Yet, Keith will be climbing Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas later this year. He’ll be reaching new heights in aid of prostate cancer research and his determination is one born of a passion and compassion towards his fellow man. That’s Keith; kind-hearted, giving, dedicated and practical.

While Keith was born in Chilliwack, the family moved to Saskatchewan just before he turned one. “Dad was a prairie chicken and he decided to return to his roots,” he said. However, by the time that Keith was heading into Grade 3, the family returned for a holiday, his dad ended up landing a job and they returned to Chilliwack.

His father was a carpet installer who absolutely loved his job. “Dad would go into a place, the other contractors would have already done their jobs and he’d look at the plans and look around the home. When the job was done, he’d basically turned an unlivable house into a home. He really enjoyed that aspect of it. I helped him out on some installations and I quite enjoyed the work myself,” he explained. However, it wasn’t carpet installations that would be his life’s calling. He had his sight set on numbers.

Keith was a hard-working, trustworthy academic who quite enjoyed math. By the time that he reached high school, he had determined that he’d either go into accounting or architecture. “It took a physics class to confirm that architecture was not my forte,” he chuckled.

Right after graduation, Keith began knocking on the doors of every local accounting firm that he could think of. “I had filled out all the forms to enroll in the CGA course and then I noticed an ad in the paper where Edmondson Roper Chartered Accountants was looking for a third year student. I almost didn’t apply because I was fresh out of high school but a friend of the family convinced me to apply and I did. The next thing I know, Ron Burr was calling me for an interview and I ended up getting the job one month out of high school. I’ve been with the firm, which is now Myers, Norris, Penny ever since,” he said. That wasn’t the original plan but every time that he thought of leaving, a new challenge would present itself and he would end up staying.

After receiving his CGA degree, he was eventually convinced by Ron Burr to go for his CA designation. “Ron basically told me that a CA firm couldn’t make a partner out of someone with simply a CGA degree. I went on to get my CA designation and have been a partner with the firm for the last 10 years but I’ve been working for the firm for the last 30 years,” he said, shaking his head at the incredible passage of time.

In 1992, Keith was sent to Hope to start up a firm for Edmondson Roper. He established the business and became fully immersed and entrenched in the community, loosing touch with Chilliwack. Then, in 2007, he was given the opportunity to return in order to play a bigger role in the Chilliwack office. The decision was a hard one because Keith quite enjoyed Hope; the community and its people. However, in the end, he chose to make the move and it’s been a good one for him and his family.

About a year ago, one his clients, Brad Henry, approached him about getting involved in an event that was aimed at bringing awareness to prostate cancer. Essentially, a team of climbers from B.C. decided to get to together and travel to Argentina in December with a mission to raise awareness and funds for the Vancouver Prostate Cancer Centre at VGH. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, striking over 22,000 Canadians every year. “Brad approached me about handling the accounting side of the climb. I thought that it was a good cause and I’ve had a few family members and clients who have faced the scare of prostate cancer. When I told him that I’d help him out, there was a pause on the phone and then he told me that it’d be really cool if I could actually join the team of climbers. He’s very persuasive, you know.”

Keith took two months to decide and with the support of his family, he jumped in with both feet. While the other members of the team have prior experience, Keith is neither a hiker nor mountain climber. Since his commitment, he’s gone on two practice hikes; one up Mt. Baker and the other up Mt. Rainier. He’s also been practicing four times a week, mainly on a treadmill, with the ramp as high as it’ll go, carrying a heavy pack on his back. “I could have just given him the money that I’ve actually spent on the gear I’ve bought. I have all the gear but at the end of the day, I’m doing something that I have never done before and I’m raising awareness and hopefully at least $10,000 for the cause,” he said. The team of thirteen climbers is hoping to raise $100,000 and while Keith is very excited and a bit apprehensive about the whole experience, he’s also quite practical. “I want to reach the top of the mountain but at the end of the day that’s not what it’s about and not why I’m doing this. I mean, I’m really not a climber and this mountain is even higher than Mt. Everest. I will try my best but I can’t be disappointed if I don’t’ make it to the top because what I’m there for is to help all of those who are battling prostate cancer,” he said.

If you’d like to support Keith and his fellow climbers, you can check out their website at HYPERLINK “http://www.climbforprostate.com” www.climbforprostate.com