John Wilson "Jack" Poole, (April 14, 1933 – October 23, 2009) was a Canadian businessman who, as the head of the VANOC bid committee, was responsible for bringing the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gret ...

to Canada. He died of pancreatic cancer shortly after midnight on October 23, 2009, hours after the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

was lit at the beginning of the

2010 Winter Olympics torch relay The 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay was a 106-day run, from October 30, 2009 until February 12, 2010, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Plans for the relay were originally announced November 21, 2008 by the Vancouver Organizing Committee f ...

, in Olympia, Greece.

Professional history

Poole graduated from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

in 1954, with a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

. He subsequently entered the field of

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

(in which position he hired B.C. Premier

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

, then a teenager, as a labourer; Poole later joked that he had given Campbell "his first job", and that by choosing Poole to chair VANOC, Campbell "gave me my last"). Poole co-founded Daon Development Corporation, the second-largest real estate development company in North America until its collapse in the early 1980s recession when it was purchased by

Bell Canada Enterprises BCE Inc., formerly Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc. Founded through a corp ...

Family

His father John "Jack" Poole was a grain dealer. He is survived by his second wife Darlene, four daughters, a stepson and his extended family. One of his grandsons,

Blake Hawksworth Blake Edward Hawksworth (born March 1, 1983) is a baseball coach and former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played college baseball at Bellevue Community College in 2002 and professionally for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers bet ...

, was a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. His granddaughter Erin Hawksworth is a reporter.

Honours

Olympic Flame of Vancouver 2010 Olympics (day)

Olympic_Flame_of_Vancouver_2010_Olympics_(night)

Poole was made a member of the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier ...

in 2003, an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

in 2006, and a member of the Order of the Sash by the Metis Nation British Columbia in March 2007. To honour his work and achievement for the

and 2010 Winter Paralympics, the former Thurlow Plaza was renamed

Jack Poole Plaza Jack Poole Plaza is a plaza in Vancouver's Coal Harbour neighborhood, in the British Columbia, Canada. The space is named after Jack Poole. The site is home to the cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot ( kettle) for cooking or boili ...

in his memory.Vancouver Convention Centre Jack Poole Plaza
The external cauldron for the games was chosen to be built at the Jack Poole Plaza as well.

Professional history

Family

Honours

References

Further reading