Jack Philpot, Chairman
Northern BC Winter Games, 1974-1976
Fort St. John. BC
Dear Organizers and Participants,
It is a great pleasure to wish all of you good fortune in all your activities surrounding the 22nd Northern BC Winter Games in Prince George.
Good luck, have fun and above all, go out of your way to make new friends...keep them for a lifetime. Ultimately, it is the knowledge of your neighbor which makes a community strong. In this case the community is all of Northern BC.
Friendship and discovery... That is what these Winter Games are all about. Ask the person next to you where they are from, how they live and where they see their dreams taking them...you’ll remember your conversation for years to come.
The memories of the “beginnings” of the Games have dimmed a bit...the problems have all vanished it seems and only the good stuff lingers on.
My coconspirator back in November of 1974 was a man named Ken Davies. Ken lost a battle with cancer a few years later and we lost a wonderful man with a tremendous vision. Ken Davies had ideas and he knew exactly how to give those ideas life. One of his great strengths was the ability to find individuals with the special skills needed to implement his plans. He was also capable of listening to other’s ideas and allowing modifications to his original plan...a rare talent indeed.
Ken and Bill McColl along with Tony Brummet and a few other educators had journeyed north to Whitehorse with busloads of student athletes for the Polar Games in the early ‘70’s. When those Games dissolved they knew they had to carry on.
When Davies and McColl first broached the subject of a similar configuration centered in Fort St. John, their concept included only the Peace Regions of BC and Alberta in addition to a special invitation to the folks in Whitehorse.
Filled with youthful bravado, my reaction was immediate, “you guys have to think bigger...if you want to really make things fly you’re going to have to include athletes from all over the north.”
The trap had been set and 1 never saw it...on the way home that evening my wife asked what we’d been talking about and it struck me that I'd agreed to a task of unknown proportions without discussing it with the person most likely to be affected bv my actions. Amazingly enough we’re still married and the Games are as healthy as ever...our goals of stimulating athletic endeavor and social interaction have been met in spades. Congratulations to the Northern BC Winter Games Society and the Prince George Host Committee once again...on behalf of Ken Davies and our original core of volunteers, 1 commend your efforts!
                                                                                                                                                            Jack Philpot