If there was a club for Prince George's volunteer association presidents, David Hodgson would have been the president.
David Thomas Hodgson - born March 12, 1933 - died this past week, leaving behind a legacy of leadership.
"He was a remarkable man, a genuinely excellent person, a gentleman's gentleman," said Lorne Calder, a celebrated community member himself as a past nominee for the city's Citizen of the Year. Calder recited a long list of organizations Hodgson was involved with over the years - the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, the Prince George Construction Association, Rotary, the BC Mechanical Contractors Association, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (BC Chapter) - each of which he was either the president or made an esteemed member.
He was also peerlessly respected in the mechanical engineering industry, said his longtime friend and colleague Myron Sanbad.
"He took the mechanical route and I took the electrical route, and we both did the Prince George Construction Association and organizations like that," Sanbad said. "I went on to the Canadian association on the electrical side and he went on to provincial and national posts on the mechanical side. And we were the best of friends, aspiring to pursue the best for our trades. I would bump into him once in a while on various jobs, and all the time in our social circles."
Hodgson fostered both the appreciation for the mechanical trades and the duties of community service in his son Keith, who also went on to be the president of the BC Mechanical Contractors Association, among other accomplishments. He was a dedicated family man, said Sanbad, and his wife Lona backed up his endeavors 100 per cent.
They also made a formidable couple on the golf course. The two were popular members of the Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
"I cant think of anyone who had a bad word to say about him. He was a very honest individual and did great service for Prince George all the years he was here. He was a great all-around individual," Sanbad said.
"He did these things out of a sense of good service," Calder said. "He gave freely of himself. He was a leader, a visionary, and shared that with the community."
No memorial service will be held. Hodgson's family asked that his memory be honoured by making donations to local charities. They especially recommended the Prince George Hospice House. His loved ones made a donation in Hodgson's name to the city's new Kordyban Cancer Lodge currently under construction.
