David Black, Chairman of the Victoria 2022 Bid Committee announced on Sunday key appointments to the Bid Committee that will materially assist Victoria’s Bid to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“John Furlong, George Heller, Dr. Roger Jackson and Iona Campagnolo add critical strengths to our Games Bid. They are all leaders in the development of a winning bid that will focus on great experiences for athletes, spectators and sponsors during the Games, and on the legacies left in Canada afterward,” said Black, who is also the owner of Black Press.
Furlong led the 2010 Olympic Games Bid and Organizing Committee to a widely acclaimed success –and of course George Heller was the CEO of one of the best Commonwealth Games on record, Victoria’s own 1994 Commonwealth Games.
Jackson is an Olympic Gold Medalist and has a long and distinguished track record in the development of sport in Canada and throughout the world.
Campagnolo was appointed by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson as British Columbia’s first female Lieutenant Governor. Sha also served as Federal Minister of Sport in the Government of Pierre Trudeau. She was Canada’s first female Minister of Sport.”
Black noted that the willingness of these sport leaders to join in the development of the Victoria Bid is a strong testimony to the capabilities of Victoria and suggested that every citizen of Victoria can be proud of the strengths and the reputation of the region.
John Furlong is a Canadian administrator of sports organizations widely recognized for overseeing the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Winter Paralympics as President and CEO of the 2010 Vancouver Bid and Organizing Committees.
George Heller is a Canadian businessperson. He was President and CEO of the Victoria, BC. Commonwealth Games Committee, which organized the 1994 XV Commonwealth Games. In 1995, he became President for North America and Europe of Bata Industries Ltd. He became President and CEO of Kmart’s Canadian unit in 1997. In February 1998, he became President and CEO of Zellers and Executive Vice President of Hudson’s Bay Company. He was the president and CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company from 1999 to 2006 and he continued to serve as Senior Director of the Board until 2008.
Heller has Honorary Doctorates from the University of Victoria and Ryerson University, and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal from the Government of Canada for service to his country. Recently elected to the Canadian Retail Hall of Fame, Heller is also a Board Member and Chair of the Investment Committee, Asia Pacific Foundation in Vancouver. He serves on several Boards, including Gildan Activewear. In August 2014, he was presented the Governor General’s Sovereign Medal. He was appointed Honorary Consul General of Thailand in 2007 and has served as Honorary Trade Advisor to the Government of Thailand since 2000. In 2013, he was awarded the Jan Masaryk Silver Medal by the Government of the Czech Republic. In September 2016, he was appointed as Commander, Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand by the Government of Thailand.
Roger Charles Jackson is a Canadian academic and Olympic gold medalist rower. He won the only gold medal for Canada at the 1964 Summer Olympics, in the coxless pair with George Hungerford. The same year they were awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy. Jackson also competed at the 1968 Olympics and finished eleventh in the single sculls event. At the 1972 Olympics he was a crew member of the Canadian boat which finished twelfth in the coxed fours competition
In 1964, Jackson was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. In 1983, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2005, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Own the Podium 2010 and inducted into the University of British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame. In 2009, he was named by CBC sports as one of the 25 most influential Canadians in sports for 2009. In 2012, Jackson was appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence.[4] In June 2015, he received an honorary degree from Western University in London, Ontario.
Iona Campagnolo (born Iona Victoria Hardy on Galiano Island) got her start in politics in 1966 when she was elected an alderwoman in the city council of Prince Rupert, B.C. In 1974, she turned to federal politics, running successfully as a Liberal Party candidate for the Canadian House of Commons in the riding of Skeena. In 1976, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau recommended her appointment to the Cabinet as Minister of Amateur Sports.
