As the headline would suggest, Paul Gard is known for one thing in the NWT: softball. Sure, he鈥檚 done more than that but the mere mention of his name in sporting circles in the North almost always goes back to softball.

That鈥檚 how I got to know him. Never heard of his name before I called him in 2006 during my days at CJCD (long live Mix 100). The original conversation was to talk about the demise of the NWT Umpires Association and how the funds remaining in the bank account would be distributed to various areas of the sport in the NWT. He was president of NWT Softball at the time and during the course of our conversation, he spoke about how they were looking for an umpire-in-chief.

Naturally, because I love the sport of softball as much as he does, I couldn鈥檛 resist 鈥� or bite my tongue, whatever works 鈥� blurting out these words which would forever change things:

鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 a Level III out of Ontario from the Toronto area.鈥� (Level III being right smack in the middle of the umpiring certification food chain 鈥� not quite international but well above the local level.)

鈥淥h, really?,鈥� was his response. 鈥淲ould you be interested in becoming our new UIC (umpire-in-chief)?鈥�

Could I say no? Of course not. He had the reel in the water and he was just waiting for me to bite, like he knew I would. About a month following that chat, I was the new UIC for NWT Softball, a position I held from 2006 to 2016.

I got to know Paul through his work on the executive side of things and it was obvious he knew what he was doing. No mysteries, no second-guesses, no anything like that. He knew the answer to pretty much everything relating to the business end of the sport, both at the territorial level and nationally, even on the umpiring side. That was a big help as I got to know the ropes of what it was like in the NWT.

Suffice it to say that it was much different than Ontario. Less bureaucracy, for one, and even though it was a lot smaller in terms of the numbers, it was still an important job. If I screwed up 鈥� of if anyone else did, for that matter 鈥� he would let you know. Not necessarily in an angry way but in a way where you knew you would have to pick up your drawers and do better. Some would look at it as a power trip but I looked at it as love of the sport. You don鈥檛 want to rip on someone who鈥檚 volunteering but you want them to remember that you offered to do the job so at least look like you want to do it.

When I ascended to the presidency of NWT Softball in 2009, it was a big jump because I had never run a sport organization of any sort before that. Paul was a huge help in making sure I knew as much as I needed to in order to do the job properly. If I didn鈥檛 know anything, I would defer to Paul because there was a very good chance he would know.

One of the better moments I was involved in happened in 2013 when Yellowknife hosted the Softball Canada annual general meeting for the first time. The annual general meeting is also when Softball Canada hosts the Hall of Fame induction ceremony and those of us among the board, excluding Paul, agreed that we would put Paul forward as a nominee for the builders鈥� category. That was also the same year we wanted to nominate the late Floyd Daniels alongside Paul but Floyd wouldn鈥檛 do it, saying there were people more worthy than him. He told me so himself.

You鈥檒l never convince me there is anyone more deserving than Floyd Daniels to go into the Hall of Fame but Paul is right up there beside him and I鈥檓 glad he got his just due for everything he鈥檚 done and being able to play a small part in making sure he lives forever in that regard.

I also had those days as an umpire where Paul was pitching and he would let me know vocally if things weren鈥檛 going his way. He and I had a few tete-a-tetes, nothing nasty or dirty, but he鈥檚 an intense player and he wanted to win. What鈥檚 good about Paul is that he never brought it off the diamond. What happened on the field stayed on the field, as it always should. Not once did we ever re-hash anything that might have occurred in a previous game.

There is no denying Paul Gard loves softball. He has had his hand in almost everything having to do with softball in the NWT for more than 50 years as a player, coach, administrator, volunteer and, yes, even umpiring. There have been a lot of comments I鈥檝e read, all in the positive, and for good reason. Paul always had the good of the sport in mind whenever he coached, ran a clinic, played a game, attended a meeting 鈥� anything. His final act, if you will, was as NWT Softball鈥檚 volunteer executive director but you don鈥檛 really retire from something you鈥檝e loved. He鈥檒l still be around, not officially, but he鈥檒l be around.

I know he wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way.