Dear C4Cers,

Last Friday night was the Mike Scott Roast in honour of his more than 60 years involvement and devotion to the Rideau Canoe Club. There was no better idea for a canoe club fundraiser to invite Mike’s list of paddling friends to a dinner in his honour. He is without a doubt the paddler with the thickest phone book for the whole country. More than 350 people gathered in their best looking outfits, and came to thank Mike and meet some old friends brought together by the sport of paddling.

The organizing committee did a really good job getting the room nicely decorated with Mike’s old pictures, giving a perspective on how long he has been around not only the canoe club, but the whole Ottawa amateur sport scene. As well, everyone had name tags which gave me the chance to go meet some people by matching their faces I had seen on Rideau’s wall of champions.

Another great move was to put Morty on as the MC. He opened the night with a entrance speech full of jokes roasting different paddlers from all generations. He did a really good job finding the right comments to either make people’s jaw drop, turn red or laugh out loud. I also greatly enjoyed the other roasters that highlighted how selfless and committed Mike had been over the years.

Then the moment I’d been waiting for the most came at last; Mike Scott was invited to share a few words. As soon as he dried his eyes, he made all the Olympians in the room rise. An impressive 15 people stood up. Then he asked all the people that had been on the national team to stand up, (around 30 people were now standing). Then Mike asked for everyone that had won a gold medal at the national championships to stand up. I estimate that half of the room were then on their feet looking at Mike. His eyes were full of water once more.

Then I realized why he did it. He wanted us to realize how immense the impact of volunteering has on people. He wanted us to size up how proud he is of his canoe club. I understood how for 60 years his happiness was growing with the amount of time he was spending helping people. Never for trophies or fame, but for the pure joy in seeing people succeed.

I am privileged to know Mike and I was happy to be there Friday to realize how many people are feeling the same way I do. I think Sue Holloway had it right on when she described Mike. She said that a good volunteer is able to give countless hours towards a cause, but a great volunteer is able to set an example and to inspire people to get involved and give countless hours towards a cause. And that is just what Mike has done for all those years, and why he will continue to be the leader of Rideau in the future.

He is simply “The Man”.

Thanks for reading, goodnight