Memorabilia
1988 Calgary Olympic Framed Pins and Accreditation
I took the position in 1985 as the Assistant Direct of Finance for CTV Host Broadcaster just about 6 months after being married to my first wife. I was assured my time in Calgary would be minimal as all financial accounting would be run out of Toronto at 42 Charles Street. I remember my first day on the job, the GM Phyllis came in and said we are all going out to Calgary tomorrow to see our Operations space there in the Hanover Building until we finish the construction of the International Broadcaster Centre(formally the big 4 building) where we will be working out of in the final year leading up to the games.
It quickly became apparent that I would be building a department out in Calgary that would be managing the planning and budgeting aspect and keeping the actual financial accounting in Toronto. The Director Milt would find himself spending more time on Legal and Contracts and keeping me out of trouble. My now 2 trips to Calgary a month which eventually became full time 6 months before the Olympics did put a strain on my marriage especially at the age of 27.
When I attended my first meeting with our major Sponsors, ABC- The president Dennis S. said before we talk business, lets exchange pins. Phyllis had to explain to check the bag I had as there should be 5 CTV Host Broadcaster pins in there. She said take one out and put it on the table. Once everyone had done that, I ended up with an ABC Calgary Olympic pin. It wasn’t until the next meeting with IBM that I discovered how popular these 50 cent pieces of metal were.
By the time the Olympics came, these pins would allow you to skip the lines to get into clubs and get you upgraded to First Class on the airlines. I have many humorous stories on this one but I can’t keep digressing.
This 4-year assignment had to be one of the craziest and most successful experiences of my life. When all was set and done our costs ended up favorable by over 10% from our original 4 year plan (approx.. $60 million). The Olympic Organizing Committee was very pleased with CTV Host Broadcaster as they were able to use a good portion of those savings to cover other overages. A lot of the success would have to attributed to our Director of Engineering and Operations(Marius) who bought used broadcaster equipment like commentary positions from the previous World Cup and refurbished them for this Olympics. Unfortunately, he passed away 2 months prior to the Olympics of a heart attack so was not able to experience the success of the first Canadian Olympics that was on budget. There were many more tragedies to the team after the games as the stress and workload eventually took its toll. The friendships I made and the restaurants I discovered (Stombolis for their great pizza and Sams original deli for their crazy hot wings) keeps me going back for my annual visit.