President's Message
TOM CREAN '74 takes on Presidency of the Alumni Association
Tom graduated from Vancouver College in 1974, and then went to UBC to pursue a degree in Philosophy. He was unable to complete his final year of studies in 1978 as a death in the family required him to assume the presidency of his family's third generation Vancouver business: Kearny Funeral Services.
In 1987, Tom left the funeral service, temporarily, to found Videogram International Corp, the first multi-media corporation to approach Disney and other major film studios in California. Their product, the Videogram 'Starmaker,' was the world's first fully automated TV station, designed to be the new 'Roman Soap Box' of our era, and 'electronic town hall.'
Videogram's first customer was City TV's "Speaker's Corner." Videogram went public in 1990 and the Videogram hardware and operating system were selected in 1991 by Popular Science Magazine, in the field of entertainment, as one of the top ten inventions in the wrold. Later that year Tom retured as Chairman of Videogram International Corp after all control of programming was surrendered to Warner Bros.
Tom returned to the family funeral hom business, but also because especially involved community service, focusing on the areas of 'media education' and "Freedom International." In 1993, Tom attended the first Maerican 'post graduate institute,' offered in Media Sciences, at Harvard Univeristy.
He is married to Jo-Ann and is father to Trevor (2003), Kelly-Ann and Sean (currently in grade 10). His hobbies include swimming, tennis, skiing, fishing, singing, composing, banjo, and guitar.
Tom is excited to assume the Presidency of the Alumni as he is a staunch believer in "Community" and wants to help develop better ways for our community to be in touch. A major priority for Tom is launching the new VC Alumni Directory, which he hopes will allow members, and in time the broader "College" community, to more easily access each other.
Read previous President's Messages from Steve Eivemark.