A former commodore of the Burlington Sailing and Boating Club and manager of the LaSalle Park Marina, Mr. Hanson, who was described as “the face of both organizations,” lost his battle with cancer Monday morning.

 

“He was a real force for positive change in the marina and he was tireless in his desire to see the organizations work as closely together as possible,” said marina president John Birch.

 

After taking over as commodore of the BSBC around 2002, he actively promoted the newly-formed Able Sail program. Today the program teaches up to 50 people with physical disabilities to sail.

 

As the manager of the marina, he took great pride in helping it earned the first-ever five-anchor rating environmental award, the highest standing, from the Ontario Marine Operators Association in 2005. Hanson accepted the honour on behalf of the marina from then Minister of the Environment Stéphane Dion. “He had a fabulous mind. He was a solutions guy,” said Birch, who said he would sometimes receive e-mails from Mr. Hanson describing his latest ideas at 3 a. m. Mr. Hanson was always the first to get involved in implementing those solutions, too. Birch said Mr. Hanson’s abilities as manager were never more apparent than when vandals set fire to the marina in 2007, causing extensive damage. Birch said by the time he arrived, Mr. Hanson had already implemented the emergency plan and had people working on the spare docks.

 

The marina was operational the day after the fire marshal left; the insurance company had expected it would take a month to reopen it.

 

“It was a classic example of him dealing with the complexity of a situation and still maintaining grace under pressure,” Birch said.

 

While devoted to the marina, Mr. Hanson never hesitated to promote the sailing club.

“He had a complete understanding of how the marina and the club would compliment each other,” said BSBC commodore Hugh McCully. “He had a broad knowledge of the programs and where the club could support their needs.”

 

That knowledge was, in part, due to his own proficiency as a sailor.

 

“He was a very accomplished racer,” McCully said. “He had a collection of racing flags he had won, dozens of them, and he had fastened them together to make one big flag.”

 

McCully said Mr. Hanson used his audio/visual skills to create promotional material for the club.

 

He was also a talented photographer and nature was one of his favourite subjects. He recently earned an honourable mention for a photo of a bee that he had submitted for the World Wildlife calendar.

 

Mr. Hanson was also honoured last week by the city with a Civic Recognition Award. At a city council meeting Monday night, Mayor Cam Jackson lauded Mr. Hanson for being an “avid promoter” of Able Sail and remembered him as a warm family man.

 

Visitation is tomorrow (Thursday) from 3-5 p. m. and 7-9 p. m. at Smith’s Funeral Home, 1167 Guelph Line. A service will be held Friday at 11 a. m.