I have never met somebody who devoted his life to helping others, especially young people, more than Pete, and probably won’t ever again. We always hear inspirational quotes about how, if you put your mind
I have never met somebody who devoted his life to helping others, especially young people, more than Pete, and probably won’t ever again. We always hear inspirational quotes about how, if you put your mind to something, you can achieve it, but how often do we really believe it? Pete not only understood this, but fostered an environment where it became a reality for us all. Pete might be considered to be ‘old school’ and sometimes cantankerous, using a mixture of encouragement, reverse psychology, and hard (but fair) talk (shouting) to get the best out of us.
To this end, everyone who was blessed to have Pete touch their lives was pushed to be the very best they could be. Whether that be in canoeing, taking part in race walks with venture scouts, partaking in fund raising activities or even Peak District Park conservation volunteering! If it wasn’t for Pete, Viking Canoe Polo and Viking Venture Scouts wouldn’t have been anywhere near as successful as they were. Successful sells it short, a better term is dominant! With Pete at the helm, Viking Canoe Polo and Viking Venture Scouts dominated pretty much everything they put their mind to.
I personally will be forever grateful for the opportunities opened up to me because of Pete. However, more importantly I’m grateful for the life skills he instilled in me: hard work, organisation, tenacity and sheer determination, with a ‘never give up attitude’. He always pushed you to be the best you could be and I will always have fond memories of him driving alongside me in the minibus, shouting for me to keep running all the way to the end of a 40 mile race, no matter the pain. I will also treasure the memory of his half time team talks during canoe polo matches when he delivered both a hairdryer of what was wrong mixed in with how to put it right.