Honorary Colonel Diane L. McCurdy

Biography / February 17, 2015 / Project number: RCAF-HCOL-BIO-DianeMcCurdy

Diane McCurdy, internationally renowned financial planner and author was appointed as Honorary Colonel of 442 Search and Rescue “City of Vancouver” Squadron at 19 Wing Comox, British Columbia (BC) in November 2014.

Honorary Colonel McCurdy was born and educated in Winnipeg Manitoba (MB) with an entrepreneurial spirit from the start. She began by renovating older homes as an investment before renovating a caboose to house her co-owned ice cream store. From there she founded McCurdy Financial Planning Inc. as a certified Financial Planner, Elder Planning Counselor and Retirement and Estate Specialist.

Honorary Colonel McCurdy is internationally recognized as a speaker, moderator and commentator with a 10-year long engagement on Global BC TV, in magazines and publications including the New York Times, Globe and Mail, Money Sense and MacLeans amongst many others.

In 2012, her book “How Much is Enough” was published and has become not just a best seller but a reference book within US Medical Schools such as John Hopkins, and the Universities of Kentucky and North Carolina. In 2017, Honorary Colonel McCurdy was named Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the KPMG Professional Category.

Amongst a range of community affiliations, Honorary Colonel McCurdy is an active member of the International Women’s Forum, now as a Past Director, an inaugural member of the BC Children’s Hospital’s Planned Giving committee and a volunteer/staunch supporter of the BC Paraplegic Association and numerous other charities.

Honorary Colonel McCurdy was first introduced to 442 Squadron as she was rescued by the squadron following a helicopter crash in August 2010. This near calamitous event fostered her advocacy for the search and rescue mission and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), evident in her participation in a number of business community stakeholder visits to 19 Wing and other military locations.