John Robertson "Bob" MacKinnon
Bob MacKinnon had a positive impact on amateur hockey locally and nationally for almost four decades. Mr. McKinnon, 64, of Oakville was the chairman of the Canadian Hockey Association from 1997 to 1999 and was Canada’s highest ranking hockey official at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
Mr. MacKinnon was born in Maxville in 1938 to parents Dan MacKinnon and Alberta Brownell and resided east of St. Elmo until a move at a young age to the Oakville area. He was a nephew of Rev. Wallace MacKinnon, a well known and respected minister in the St. Elmo area. In his youth he played minor hockey but he claimed he was not a “focused athlete” and quit playing hockey at age 14.
But he became involved again as a founder of the Oakville Blades junior team in 1966. He was elected to the board of directors of the Ontario Hockey Association in 1974 and served as chairman from 1984 to 1986. He was awarded its highest honour, the Gold Stick Award, in 1989. He served as chair of the Hockey Development Centre for Ontario (1986-1988) and was elected as a Canadian Hockey Association officer in 1991.
Murray Costello of the International Ice Hockey Federation is quoted as saying “He was one of the most even-tempered men, a bear of a man, and absolute delight to work with.” CHA president Bob Nicholson said, “Mr. MacKinnon tried to take care of conflicts peacefully. He has left many footprints with positive results. He was truly liked not only in Ontario but from coast to coast. He brought Hockey Canada and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association together as one body and made it work in such a positive way. He was a gentleman in every way.”
When Mr. MacKinnon first became chairman of the CHA, he implemented the national “Speak Out” programme for hockey following the Graham Jones / Sheldon Kennedy sex scandal. If problems arose he wouldn’t hesitate to force people to focus on the real issues. Whoever came in contact with him went away with something positive.
At the National level he got things going in a different direction by setting up better communications between the CHA and all its branches.
Bob MacKinnon died April 4, 2002 at the age of 64 after a short battle with cancer. He leaves a daughter Marni and two sons Rob and Michael.
