John Furlong was trekking briskly through Pine Centre Mall on Tuesday, Christmas shopping for his son. Earlier in the day he gave a big present to the 2015 Canada Winter Games (CWG) organizers, the gift of his presence.
Furlong was the CEO of the bid group that won the 2010 Olympic Winter Games for Vancouver, and then led the VANOC group that carried the games off. He is also a former resident of Burns Lake and Prince George, and started on his path to Olympic celebrity by leading the organization of the Northern B.C. Winter Games.
Now his expertise is being tapped by Prince George's group putting together the CWGs, and tapped willingly.
"There's no Get Out of Jail card for me here," he said following meetings at the Civic Centre with local Games officials. "I'm a friend of Prince George, I'll always have a soft spot for Prince George, and I am happy to help."
The visit is well timed. The bid committee has completed its task, and won the Games over challengers Kamloops and Kelowna. A host society will soon be in place to build the CWGs progressively up to 2015. Right now, though, there is no official authority, but a group of volunteers helping steer the process, and Furlong said now is the time to start setting up the vision for what this event will do. It is about athletics, that is the ends, but the means to that is living dream.
"The No. 1 thing, I think, if I were CEO of these Games, I would want it to matter to everybody who lives here," he said. "The most important decision we (VANOC) made was the first one: we committed to a vision. Be sure of what you want to do and stick to it. Anchor it in a set of core values. It has to inspire people to get up and out of bed in the morning."
Local Games official Tracy Calogheros said their meeting with Furlong was finished far too soon, but worth every second.
"He's certainly got a tonne of nuts-and-bolts information to share with us," she said. "I have my pink notebook I'm writing it all down in. All we are doing is gathering it all in and he told us to call him again when it gets down to brass tacks."
Calogheros said one of the hardest aspects is already on Prince George's side. A clear demonstration of support has been given by the general public for hosting these Games in the northern capital.
"This town wants these Games, this town has shown that," she said.
Furlong's advise to capitalize on this opportunity, she said, was "it might take a little more time, it might take a little more money, but do it right the first time. Once you have your focus, stick to your guns and do it right. The legacies are for the whole community."
"There is no confusion here about who you are. You are the core driving force of the North," said Furlong, urging the organizers and the public to reach out with these Games to the entire region, so the North as a whole feels connected to the vision of the Games. It was like that for the Olympics, said Furlong, when many from Prince George left work and made family compromises in order to volunteer in Vancouver. That is the promise this event holds for our city, he said. It is our turn to show Prince George is a major player, with some very big Games.
"There will be rocks in the road, but you have to move around them," he said. "You beat some pretty hefty competition to win the Games, but I think you'll have one of your best periods in front of you...The athletes coming here are the best of all time in their age class. You'll see Canada's new heroes here."
