PG’s athletic community says Dick Voneugen’s leadership will be greatly missed

An avid community booster with an affinity for outdoor sports is being lauded by some of the people who knew him best.

Two-time winner of PG’s Citizen of the Year Award, Dick Voneugen passed away at the age of 92 this week.

Voneugen was best known for having a major in hand in events and the launching of several community groups including the Labour Day Run, Prince George Triathlon, Kids’ Triathlon, BC Senior 55+ Summer Games as well as the PG Ice Oval Committee among many others.

Jim Swanson was the Sports Editor at the Prince George Citizen from 1997-2014 whol told MyPGNow.com Dick’s hands-on approach at several events was something to admire.

“I use the bacon and eggs analogy sometimes. The chicken is kind of involved but the pig is all in – Dick was one of those guys that was all in on his events and he worked with people so well. You could tell everyone wanted to work with him, which is a refreshing thing to see.”

Swanson went on to say that Dick is in the same ilk as two other long-time sporting icons in Tom Masich and Gale Russell who have since passed.

“I kind of compare him to a guy like Tom Masich, a very similar type of guy but different sports to some degree and, were two guys that really gave to the community that way.”

Like Masich and Russell, Voneugen was inducted into the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame, with his induction year taking place in 2003.

Voneugen was also a board member of the Sports Hall of Fame.

PG Ice Oval Society President Kathy Lewis worked alongside Voneugen on many occasions and is thankful for his leadership in spearheading the Ice Oval’s current location.

“I first worked with Dick on the Labour Day Classic much before the Ice Oval Society and then he got quite involved with the development of the existing location of the Ice Oval.”

“His ability to make things happen and he was very much involved in many things besides just the running. He was involved with the Oval, the Greenway (Cranbrook Hill), Terry Fox Run. He at times would be quite relentless in the way he approached things that he thought would be good for the community.”

One of Voneugen’s main accomplishments was the Prince George to Boston Marathon road race, an event that led to an appearance from Terry Fox who then kick-started his Marathon of Hope soon after.

Voneugen then stepped up to organize the first-ever Terry Fox Run in 1980, a September tradition that continues to this day.

“I was born in 1984 and I remember subsequent years as a young child when my parents would bring me to the Terry Fox Run and Dick would be there enthusiastic and getting people running by spreading Terry’s message,” said Scott McWalter.

McWalter who previously who ran the Terry Fox Run from 2014-2019 was always amazed at how much money Dick was able to raise for the annual event.

“Dick was the number one fundraiser and none of that was online. Not like today where you create a fundraising page online and people make those donations on the internet. Dick would have old-school pledge sheets going door to door and meeting people at coffee shops and local businesses and yet would still come as the number one fundraiser.”

Voneugen, who was born in Holland and a Prince George resident since the 1960s, began his involvement in local athletics in the 1970’s and founded the Prince George Roadrunners, where he served as president for a decade.

“When he was a young man in his early teens, this was the heart of the Second World War in Holland in his hometown of Amsterdam, which with the Nazi invasion, a lot of people don’t recognize the fact that Dick’s family was responsible for hiding Jewish families and friends,” added McWalter.

“All the way up until the Liberation on May 5th 1945 of Amsterdam, I think it was probably that moment where Dick made the choice where he would one day want to live in Canada. The Canadian soldiers helped liberate his city and it was through that resilience and tough times at a young age, transferred into his long career in athletics.”

Thanks to his roots, the 92-year-old was the chief organizer of the annual Dutch Canadian Tulip Commemoration in the city.

In 1990, Voneugen began his involvement in the B.C. Senior Games by organizing the local track and field team that participated in the event.

This is where Linda Meise’s connection with Dick came where she couldn’t help but marvel at his willingness to help others.

“He looked after the track and field contingent that went to the games. He was so encouraging and motivating for everyone and participated himself. Even when he wasn’t participating, he was cheering everyone on.”

“For quite a few years, we had one of the largest contingents of track and field at the BC games, which usually includes about 30 different events. Track and field is one by itself and we always sent a large group thanks to him.”

Meise also recalled a touching story at one of the games where it was hosted in Prince George, where a runner in a 1500 metre race fell down and later finished due to Dick’s encouragement.

“He was probably in his 80s’ and he slipped and fell and people were going to help him up but Dick ran out and said no, he needs to get up on his own and, encouraged him to finish the race. No harm came of it, he was perfectly fine but his first thought was that the fellow would be more appreciative by finishing the race.”

A celebration of his life is being planned for April at the Exhibition Park ice oval.