Rick Erven then introduced our fellow Rotarian Ken King. Rick said if you don’t know who Ken is, you must have been living under a rock. Ken was born in Davidson Saskatchewan and has had a successful and diverse career working for various newspapers and moving to Vancouver for a period of time to work for the Pacific Press Group. He has held many titles and received treasured honours and awards. Ken King is currently the president and CEO of the Calgary Flames Limited Partnership as well as the CEO of the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation. He holds leadership roles in the Stampeders, Flames, Calgary Hitmen and Calgary Roughnecks and represents the organization as Alternate Governor of the NHL and Governor of the CFL, WHL and NLL.
Rick explained in 2005 Ken was awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal for outstanding contributions to the province, in 2012 he received a Honorary degree from the University of Calgary and in 2014 he received an Honorary degree from Mount Royal University. Ken King has also been a member of our club since the 1980s, however, he left when he moved to Vancouver and re-joined upon his return.
Ken King addressed our club and said that he would not apologize for the late arrival of our other guest of honour as he just stepped off the ice from practice. Ken recounted that he was introduced to Rotary by Bill Kaufmann advising the group that Bill had said to him at that time “we don’t normally let people like you into our club”. Ken further joked about our now President Bill’s earlier announcement of price increase to encourage attendance at the Rotary Lunch meetings. Ken seemed to the think that was an interesting concept and perhaps wondered if the same logic could be applied elsewhere.
Ken then turned his talk to the focus of the Calgary Rotary Flames Foundation and the great work the people who work for the foundation do off the ice. The Calgary Flames Foundation mission is to support initiatives that bring positive change to the lives of southern Albertans. Ken said that he is almost always told, especially lately, that throughout this city not enough people know about the Calgary Flames Foundation and the work that they do. Ken had always thought it was not necessary to boast about the accomplishments of the Calgary Flames Foundation but now is questioning whether that was the right move. It is important for our city and its constituents to know what great work the foundation is doing. The Flames Foundation is committed to supporting education, health and wellness, and amateur and grassroots sports. The hope is to improve the lives of southern Albertans through the support of these initiatives has long been the mandate of the Calgary Flames Foundation. Success has come in part by the injection of millions into the southern Alberta community, including $30 million since 2001 and, more recently, $3 million in 2016-17.
Ken pointed out a group of the key players that had made it to the lunch and who Ken says allows the Calgary Flames Foundation to be a success. Ken explained that leaders like Candace Goudie who have an excellent attitude are really what drives the foundation. According to Ken, through her enthusiast leadership she does an amazing job in speaking on the Foundation’s behalf.
Ken talked about emotional equity and the fact that it doesn’t cost a penny to be a flames fan and for Calgarians to say “Go Flames Go”. He touched on the dollar match program that the Calgary Flames Foundation does with the players individual charities and fundraising efforts and the Calgary Flames Grade 6 YMCA Membership program, whereby all Calgary students registered in Grade 6 receive a FREE YMCA membership for the school year.
Ken also announced that everyone in attendance at the luncheon in a Flames jersey could write their name down before leaving and that they would be sent two free tickets to an upcoming game on one condition, that the tickets be used by someone other than the recipients.
Ken then had some very heartfelt words to say about his captain Mark Giordano. He described Mark as a leader on and off the ice and said that it was impossible to describe all of the ways in which his leadership contributes to the team and this city. Ken brought up the fact that Mark was an undrafted player and said that he should have been and will always be their number one pick. In addition to his many other accomplishments Mark was awarded the ESPY Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award in 2017 when other finalists included, receiver Larry Fitzgerald of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, outfielder Curtis Granderson of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets and Ernie Els, a four-time major champion golfer.
Mark and his wife Lauren through their Team Giordano initiative have been working to support students at four high-need schools in Calgary, with a focus on providing encouragement in both academics and physical fitness and promoting healthy lifestyles, as well as leadership and community involvement. It was announced that they have so far raised approximately $400,000 in donations and impacted the lives of thousands of young people.
Mark explained that the Calgary Flames ownership group sets the example to the players and that they all take a lot of pride in giving back to this city. He said that he was truly honoured to be in the position that he is in and able to give back. He was also honoured to be receiving a Paul Harris Fellow from our Rotary Club and he spoke about how he really hopes that he has set a good example for his teammates and other young people alike
Bob Pearson thanked Mark Giordano and Ken King and the rest of the Calgary Flames Foundation for their attendance at our meeting and their partnerships with Rotary over the years. The talk was truly enlightening and educational and we were all very grateful that they made the time to attend. In light of their attendance a donation will be made to CAWST, the centre for affordable water and sanitation technology.
President Bill adjourned the meeting and announced Janice Price, President & CEO of The Banff Centre will be our speaker next week!
Mark Giordano with Paul Harris Award