McIlhone’s engine running for Canada Games
Gerry McIlhone is already thinking about his biggest challenge as the chair of the transportation committee for the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games.
Halfway through the Games, 2,500 athletes will leave Niagara after their competitions to be replaced by the next group of 2,500 athletes.
“That will be crusher; 2,500 from the airport to Brock and 2,500 from Brock to the airport,” he said.
McIlhone laughs when contemplating the challenge that awaits him and his committee.
“If that doesn’t get your engine going man, I don’t know what will.”
His committee’s role is something he hopes won’t be noticeable.
“It is my work as well and the thing about transportation is that if you do it right, it’s never in the news, nobody hears about it and it’s a beautiful thing,” he said. “There’s no glamour to it and it’s a backstage thing. Our biggest challenge will be to make that happen.”
Mcilhome is trying to produce the best possible travel experience for the athletes, but it won’t be easy. He is concerned about the traffic congestion on the QEW going through Hamilton.
“I’m not sure we will have too many options but we are looking to have something on the bus or train to promote the Games, promote Niagara and promote tourism.”
The other two main jobs of the transportation committee will be having on-site transportation volunteers at all the venues and the logistics of warehousing and shipping supplies for the Games.
The on-site transportation member will be part of the venue leader’s team.
“They will be monitoring transportation in and out and some venues will have parking and traffic issues,” he said. “They will also be the point of contact if we have a breakdown or a traffic problem or something and they will get a call that a team or an athlete will be late.”
They will also relay information to organizers about parking availability and whether or not an event is on schedule.
McIlhone’s volunteer position entails a lot of work and he is motivated by two reasons.
“The first is very personal,” he said. “I have three kids who benefitted immensely from a lot of other people agreeing to help out.”
The second reason is pride in Niagara.
“I am a Toronto-born person, but I am a Niagara person for the last 30 years and I love having the opportunity to promote out region, show people what a great place it is to live, visit and play,” he said. “I find it immensely gratifying when you can do that kind of stuff.”
McIlhone has plenty of previous experience helping out with sports events in Niagara. He has volunteered at Ontario Federation of Secondary Schools Association championships in Niagara and was the transportation chair for the FIBA under-18 men’s basketball Americas Championship in St. Catharines in 2018.
His transportation-heavy resume includes: supervisor station, train and engine employees with VIA Rail Canada in Toronto; operations controller with GO Transit; manager of transportation with St Catharines Transit; manager of transportation for the Niagara Parks Commission; and, his present job as operations superintendent with City of Hamilton Transit.
He is also vice chair of Regional Niagara’s active transportation sub-committee and the chairperson of the transportation advisory committee in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Away from work, he is a basketball referee, has been president of St Catharines CYO Basketball for the past 25 years and is the vice-president of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Tennis Club since October 2017.
