The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PUBLICAUCTION CUSTOMSSEIZEDHIGHVALUEDIAMONDS SEIZURENO.CS4971-07-0926CANADIANGOVERNMENTCERTIFIEDNWTDIAMONDS All salesare final.No refundexchangeor layaway.Payments:Visa,M.C.,Debit,CashandCertifiedCheques.Somereservesmayapply.Salesubject toadditions,deletions,errorsandomissions.15%buyerspremium&applicable taxes tobeadded.CrownAssetAuctioneers.1-888-694-9169 SUNDAYOCT.3rd,2010Auctionat 2:00P.M. -Viewingfrom1:00P.M. HOLIDAYINNBRONTE(OAKVILLE)2525WyecroftRoad(Q.E.W.&Bronte)Fordirectionspleasecall: 905-847-1000 ROLEX-CARTIER-PATEK-OMEGA-CHOPARD-BREITLINGSOLITARIES-RINGS-EARRINGS-PENDENTS-BRACELETS-NECKLACES w w w . o a kv ill eb ea ve r.c o m O A KV IL LE B EA V ER Fr id ay , O ct ob er 1 , 2 01 0 2 By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF While David Smyth may have only walked the halls of Trent University for a year his memory and dreams are continuing to make an impact there. Smyth, a resident of Oakville, passed away from a severe form of leukemia, brought on by Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome, on Friday, Sept. 3. He was only 20 years old. On Sept. 21, Smyths father Mike and mother Kim attended a special ceremony at Trent University where a red oak tree was planted in memory of their son. The ceremony, which was attend- ed by around 50 students and faculty, also saw a large stone placed at the base of Smyths tree. On this stone was a plaque inscribed with Smyths name and the W. Mitchell quote by which he lived his life. Its not what happens to you, its what you do about it. Mike said he was surprised and moved when he was told Trent would be dedicating a memorial to his son. We were incredibly touched, said Mike. We didnt expect the fac- ulty, the chancellor, the administra- tor, the registrarwe were so thank- ful, so happy, so touched they felt David had made a meaningful mark and they wanted to recognize it. As he approached the end of his life, Smyth received national atten- tion, encouraging people to undergo a simple cheek swap test and thereby add their names to Canadas bone marrow donor registry. While Smyth knew increasing the number of names on the registry might not save him, he held great hope it would be of help to others in his position. Smyths family is now hoping to see the Canadian registry grow from its current level of 262,000 registered donors to two million in two years. Those hopes were kindled when, in addition to the tree planting cere- mony on Sept. 21, Trent University held a bone marrow drive in Smyths honour the following day. In the end, Mike said this drive saw around 500 Trent students to add their names to the registry. It was one of the biggest drives that a university has had, said Mike. Getting numbers into that reg- istry so it is a meaningful number for the doctors is so important. It is one thing to talk about awareness, but it is something else to put the numbers into the till. Mike said the momentum started by his son is continuing to grow. Trent University officials said they plan to hold another bone marrow drive later in the new year. Mike said other universities and businesses are also looking into what they can do to increase the donor reg- istry and even the government is get- ting involved. Terence Young (Oakville MP) has arranged for him and I to go to Ottawa on Oct. 6, and he said hell introduce me to the federal health minister, said Mike. Maybe theyll carry this ball too. I think in order to provide a meaning- ful registry the political system is going to have to help the healthcare system. That needs to happen because this might just be too big a mountain to climb for us individu- als. Mike said Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn has challenged other MPPs to hold donor clinics similar to the one Flynn co-sponsored at Oakville- Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) earlier this month. While Trent Universitys contribu- tion to the donor registry and the tree planting ceremony deeply moved Smyths family, this was not the only gift they received from the education- al institution. Mike said Trent University is sav- ing Kim and himself a seat at their next graduation day in May, so they can come forward and accept Smyths degree. Thats very emotional for us, said Mike, choking back tears. I think Kim and I will both have to do that walk. One of us will fall down if we dont have the other one. Its just one touching thing after another from Trent University. Smyth had been working on a joint degree in sociology and political science from Trent University and had also been taking a summer course from the University of Toronto. Mike said his son was a ded- icated student turning in an assign- ment to the University of Toronto a matter of days before he died. Five days before he died he was no longer able type and talk, so we sent in what we could. It wasnt total- ly footnoted right, we didnt add any- thing that would have been from Mike Smyth, said Mike. He got a wonderful note from the professor at the University of Toronto saying it was admirable someone in his position would even prioritize getting this done let alone putting together a very good essay. Overall Smyth got a B+ in that summer course, said Mike. Trent University is not the only place of learning taking up Smyths cause. Sheridan College will be holding a cheek swab drive on Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The drive will take place in the B wing of the Student Union Building, located on the Trafalgar Campus, 1430 Trafalgar Rd. Trent University honours David Smyth with memorial tree David Smyth