The teenager wearing a brand new white leisure suit, stands nervously in the corner of the room clutching a manila envelope filled with hope and 8x10 black and white prints, still damp and smelling like vinegar from the darkroom chemicals. Over the constant din of the clanging typewriters and ringing of the carriage return bells, he hears a voice call him.
When the job interview ends, the man takes the cigar out of his mouth and says "Welcome to the Columbian Newspaper kid. Here is your press pass. It will get you into places the general public can't go so it will be your job to use that camera to take our readers with you."
That day was the beginning of my 36-year career as a photojournalist, the last 26 at the Tri-City News.
During that time I photographed royalty. Princess Diana, Prince William, two visits by Queen Elizabeth and more than 30 Port Coquitlam May Queens.
In the 70's and 80's I was beside the stage for every big concert held at the Pacific Coliseum, and throughout my career I photographed hundreds of high school plays and children's Christmas concerts.
My press pass put me on the sidelines when my neighbour Lou Passaglia ran on to the field to kick a field goal with no time on the clock to win the 1994 Grey Cup. When Trevor Linden made the biggest hit in the Canucks' history sending a St. Louis player through the glass into the seats of the coliseum, I was the one who caught him along with a lap full of glass. I also shot thousands of school sporting events, and championships. Many of my photos of your children hung on your refrigerators or are tucked away in family scrapbooks.
I spent a week travelling with Rick Hansen through B.C. as he neared the end of his world tour, and when he reach Coquitlam, I photographed him as he climbed the Thermal Drive hill and rode passed the home that I grew up in as a child.
One morning in 1979 while driving though Port Coquitlam, I stopped my car to take a picture of a young man running beside the road. He caught my attention because he only had one leg. He said his name was Terry and he invited me to photograph a car wash that weekend because he wanted to raise money to buy gas for his van so he could run across Canada. Two years later, in the middle of the night, I stood in the parking lot of Royal Columbian Hospital as the hospital director told the waiting media that Canada had lost a true hero. It was the only time I saw veteran reporters cry at a press conference.
I covered the big stories. Expo 86, the Canucks' first two Stanley Cup runs, the 1994 riot, an NHL all-star game, and The Olympic torch run. And I covered tragedy. The funerals of children killed by Clifford Olsen and the search of the Pickton farm.
But it's the stories of Tri-City residents who welcomed me into their homes and lives that I will remember most.
In 1989, a friend introduced me to a couple that were expecting their first child. For the next six months leading up to Mother's Day, I updated our readers on their progress as they prepared. I was in the delivery room and photographed them as they saw their child for the first time.
In 2004 I was searching for a feature for our Christmas edition, something that would show the spirit of Christmas in the Tri-Cities and I found it in the most unlikely place. A woman named Elsie invited me to photograph her last Christmas. She was spending Christmas at the Crossroads Hospice. I was so moved by the work of the volunteers there that my wife Darla and I became supporters of Crossroads.
Last week I turned in my press pass but you will still find me on the sidelines of the sports field coaching my sons Dawson and Robbie and their North Coquitlam U12 soccer team.
I'll also be in the theatre but I'll be helping backstage as my son Brandon performs with the Theatrix Youth Theatre Society.
This job has given me a front row seat on life and I'm honoured that I was able to use my camera to bring what I saw into your homes each week.
