2012
R B Penney Charity
Slo-Pitch Tournament
S
BY MIKE OGLE AND DAVE PINEAU, TORONTO FIRE FIGHTER
ometimes, to gain a better understanding of where we are today, we need to reflect back on our history. Rob Penney was a Toronto Fire Fighter (Local 113) who started his firefighting career with the Toronto Fire Department on June 27, 1983. By reading his history and the background of this tournament, you will see that Rob could have been any one of us. Rob worked most of his career in TFD station 11 (now known as Station 313), which was a Foam and Hazardous Materials pumper back then. While Rob was on that vehicle, it responded to several HazMat calls during the early 80s. In 1989, Rob was diagnosed with kidney cancer and had his kidney removed. In early 1990, after he completed cancer treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital, Rob returned as a productive member of Pumper 24 (now Station 311). After a fire in the late summer of 1990, Rob returned to the fire station not feeling well, and soon after, started throwing up blood. The cancer had returned with devastating effect; it was now in his lungs. After a courageous battle, Rob succumbed to cancer at the age of 38, leaving behind his wife, Nancy and three daughters: Lisa, Ashley and Erica, ages 6, 4 and 2, respectively. We must remember that this tragedy took place before fire fighter occupational diseases were being recognized. The Rob Penney tournament was started for this very reason. As Brother Dave Pineau remembers, “We started the very first Rob Penney Slo-Pitch Tournament the following spring at McCleary Park. We wanted to keep Rob’s memory alive, as well as to raise funds for an education trust for his daughters. The second year, as the tournament grew, we moved to L’Amourieux. After the second successful fun event, Nancy approached me and asked me if I would continue the tournament, but make it a charity event for cancer. I agreed and approached Princess
Margaret Hospital, which was then beginning to fundraise for a move into their present facility on University Avenue. Over the next several years, the tournament grew in size and had a huge participation from the old Toronto Fire Department, with close to 50 teams competing in an event that spanned an entire week in June at the Downsview Military base. The tournaments had live bands performing in the evening and a military kitchen serving four meals a day. During this time, we completed three pledges to the PMH building fund for a research laboratory, a special imaging room (state of the art for early detection of cancer) and a leukemia patient room. These pledges signified to us the three important reasons we were supporting Princess Margaret: first, for their incredible history of research; second, for helping patients uncover the cancer problem early; and finally, for the hospital’s tremendous treatment of patients battling this disease. We feel very fortunate to have developed our friendship with this hospital, which is ranked in the top five cancer facilities in the world. After the new PMH was opened, Toronto Fire and Rob Penney’s name were inscribed on plaques in the three areas that the tournament had pledged a total of close to $200,000. I was proud to be able to write Rob’s name and his family’s (both his wife and kids, as well as his TFFA family) on the top beam at the opening ceremony of the hospital. The huge success of the tournament then allowed me to offer our continued support toward research but I wanted it to be recognized in a way that paid tribute to fire fighters battling cancer, and especially those who had lost the battle. The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation
agreed, and so the Fire Fighters’ Cancer Research Fund was originated. This tournament was started by, and continues to run, through the dedicated volunteer efforts of our members, both past and present, as well as some of our very best associates and friends. To thank them all would probably fill an entire magazine, but on behalf of Nancy Penney and her family, we would like to thank them and to welcome you all to participate in next year’s event. Dave took the opportunity to call Nancy Penney a couple of days before this year’s tournament to let her know that the tournament was back up and running. Her reply to Dave was something that, quite frankly, choked him up: “It is a wonderful Father’s Day present for me and our three daughters.” On June 18th and 19th, the 19th Annual Rob Penney Slow Pitch Tournament returned with over 500 members attending and enjoying the festivities. With a very short period of time to prepare and contact all those that had contributed in the past, the tournament raised approximately $15,000.00. All proceeds will be forwarded to the Fire Fighters’ Cancer Research Fund at PMH in memory of Rob. We look forward to next year, which will be the 20th anniversary of the tournament. Look for notices to be released early in the New Year.
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