ROTHENBURGER – The important legacies of late TNRD chair Ken Gillis

I WAS IN MY TRUCK listening to the radio news on Thursday when I heard the shocking announcement that former Thompson-Nicola Regional District board chair Ken Gillis had died. (I later read he’d suffered a heart attack.)

I want to tell you a bit about Ken. He had a fascinating life. Once a truck driver, he studied law and became a well-known lawyer in Kamloops until he “retired.” I put “retired” in quotes because he was the kind of guy who never stopped working.

He lived in the Pritchard area and represented Electoral Area L (Grasslands) for several years. When I was considering a run for the TNRD board as director for Electoral Area P (Rivers and the Peaks), Ken was one of the first people I sought advice from. I’d been a City director on the board for two terms when I was mayor, and as a newspaper editor had followed the TNRD closely, but I knew being a rural director is much different than being a municipal director.

Over a coffee downtown, Ken enthusiastically told me I should go for it.

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Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.