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SOOKE, BC - Tragedy struck last Friday morning on Otter Point Road near the Sooke Municipal office and fire hall. In a brief moment, a family lost a daughter, a community lost a vibrant member in her youth and CUPE lost one of our own. Amanda Emily Anderson, a 17-year old CUPE 1978 member and lifeguard was on her way to school when her vehicle lost control and collided with a Sooke district emergency truck.

“Everyone who knew her is remembering her incredible vibrancy, her caring for others and her dedication to her community,” says Vancouver Island CUPE national representative Ian McLean, after speaking with CUPE members at the pool where Amanda worked and at the schools she attended.

“Amanda was a hard working young woman, she was a good student, she babysat, worked as a lifeguard at the pool - she taught my grandkids how to swim,” remembers McLean. “She will be greatly missed.”

Amanda was a popular and successful student at Edward Milne Community School (EMCS). She worked at the SEAPARC Leisure Centre as a lifeguard and is remembered by parents and kids in the community as a dedicated swimming teacher that loved to encourage her students.

Tributes in her honour are, or soon will be, underway at EMCS, and SEAPARC.

CUPE BC & CUPE 1978 will be dedicating a plaque in Amanda’s honour at the pool where she worked. They will also be donating to a fund called LIVING IN ETERNITY FUND at the municipal pool started in memory of Amanda by her stepfather. The fund will help children who cannot afford swimming lessons or day camps to participate in these activities.

The funeral is scheduled to take place Saturday, October 14, 2 p.m. at Sooke Baptist Church. A luncheon is to follow at Sooke Pentecostal Church.