Dr. Rick Brooks-Hill, and his wife, Priscilla
The following is a guest post by Ken Powell, Director and Past Chair of The Canadian Canoe Museum
The Canoe Museum recently lost one of it’s National Council members, Dr. Rick Brooks-Hill. Rick battled cancer for three years and died on December 25, 2019 surrounded by his family in his Whistler, BC home. Rick was a successful businessman, both as an entrepreneur and senior executive with Phillips, Hager and North. He also taught business and finance at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Rick and his wife Priscilla spent their summers on Stoney Lake. He loved paddling and he passed on his fondness for the craft to his children and grandchildren who continue to paddle on Stoney Lake. For a number of years he MC’d the regatta at the the Stoney Lake Yacht Club, always with his characteristic enthusiasm and quirky sense of humour. He was, at one point, Commodore of the club. He was an accomplished sailor and represented Canada at a number of international events.
He and his wife Priscilla were keen supporters of the Canadian Canoe Museum. The Brooks-Hill family donated a canoe to the museum, and Rick would always respond affirmatively to special requests (helping buy a trailer, fixing the museum roof, etc.). In reflecting on their connection to the museum, Rick shared:
“Being in the canoe museum reminds me of early days at the family cottage on Stoney Lake. There were six of us on a small island with only a canoe and one small boat with a 7.5 hp Evinrude (probably made at Outboard Marine Corporation in Peterborough, where the museum is located now). It seemed somebody always had the small boat on the other side so most often the only way to get off the island was to paddle the canoe. Remembering that and the role of the canoe in shaping Canada, Priscilla and I have been delighted to support the work of the museum over the years…”
They gave generously to the new museum capital campaign. He and Priscilla were also members of the museum’s original Founders’ Circle set up in 2016. Rick was generous with his time in other ways, too (in the Kawarthas area, for example, he was Chair of the Kawartha Land Trust Investment Committee). His community commitment was recognized with an honorary doctorate from Assumption University.
An investment professional, entrepreneur, teacher, athlete, philanthropist, community involved, family focussed, and genuinely nice and personable guy, Rick will be missed.
Ken Powell
Director, Past Chair
Ken Powell has had a national and international business career as an executive with Imperial Oil, Exxon Corporation and Esso Inter-America. Subsequently, he was a management consultant with Coopers and Lybrand Consulting, Associate Director of the Canadian Outward Bound Wilderness School, taught business and public policy courses part time at Seneca College and worked with CESO, consulting in Malaysia. He has served as Chair of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Board of Directors and has volunteered with a number of other organizations including Junior Achievement of Canada, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Corporate- Higher Education Forum, Toronto and Atlantic Symphony Orchestras. He has canoed many lakes and rivers of Canada and is passionate about travel and photography.