Back in September we lost a longtime contributor and friend of the Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club, Bob Fadock.
Bob spent many hours on the trails skiing with his wife, Pirjo and his kids Michael and Kaila. It was a lifelong family activity. Hiawatha and SFNSC were among his happy places. Bob was a Soo Finnish member since the late 1980s and was involved in numerous volunteer activities to support the club.
He was involved in pretty much every operational aspect of the ski club from trail layout and improvements, to seasonal grooming and event support. Some of his biggest smiles were while driving one of the snowmobiles and completing a lovely grooming of one of the trails.
Bob contributed to all of the youth programming from slinging hotdogs at a Jackrabbit Social to collaborating to reinvigorate the Biathlon Program at Soo Finnish and the Army Cadets.
Club youth were a major focus for Bob. He contributed to coaching in the Jackrabbit program and later the organization and support for the program. He loved to see the kids ski.
Bob was present, in one capacity or another, at every competitive event the ski club hosted for many years; Jackrabbit Time Trials, Hiawatha Invitationals, Ontario Winter Games. He took on many roles from logistics to officiating (stadium, start, grooming) to OCup Race Secretary.
On top of that were the many long hours of driving and team support as the Junior and Senior race teams crisscrossed the province. He was always on the sidelines cheering for everyone. In addition to driving, many hours were spent in the wax room prepping skis for both our Nordic teams and Biathlon team members at regional and provincial events.
A favorite event of Bob’s was the annual Mabel Lake Tour. Bob did everything from hacking brush and preparing trail, to grooming and providing snowmobile rides at the lake refreshment station.
He assisted in putting the Biathlon program together with other club members. He assisted in negotiations to access the Algoma Rod and Gun Club for trail development and delivery of training and Biathlon events at the regional, provincial and national level.
For many years he was a pivotal member of the SFNSC executive serving on the Board as VP and ultimately President. In addition to guiding the club and all of its annual planning and programs during that time, he assisted in securing a large Trillium grant to support major improvements for club infrastructure and the delivery of the Ontario Winter Games.
Bob was always present to lend a hand at the annual Ski Swap, pasta dinners, and annual ski banquets. A calm presence with a smile, good humor and an encouraging word.
In 2001 he received the SFNSC President’s Award for his many contributions.
Our condolences go out to Pirjo, Michael, Kaila and families on Bob’s loss, from his Soo Finnish Nordic Ski Club family.