The effects of volunteerism are far reaching, producing long-lasting and positive impacts that are felt by communities and local individuals for years.
Prince Albert’s Bruce Vance is a shining example of the legacy that is built from volunteering in the amateur sport community.
Even while battling cancer and undergoing 50 rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, Bruce continued volunteering until he passed on October 18, 2024.
His dedication to Prince Albert’s amateur sport community continues to live on and is felt by the many individuals he volunteered alongside, some of whom have shared a few words regarding their time with Bruce and the legacy he left.
Liane Vance witnessed her husband dedicate his heart and time to various organizations throughout their marriage. She was able to watch his passion for volunteerism thrive for many years and supported Bruce through it all. Here is what Liane shared about Bruce’s journey as a volunteer:
“Bruce had a genuine love for people and community and that made him a natural born leader and volunteer. This started at a very young age, as I am told stories of how he would organize street hockey and other sports in his neighbourhood, where he grew up in Tillsonburg, Ont. In high school he was elected as the youngest Prime Minister at his school and set to organizing events for the betterment of his school and the students.
That’s where it all started, and volunteering just continued to be a very important part of his life. He never really thought he was doing anything special he just wanted to lend a hand and offer his expertise where he could. One of his sayings he had was ’Go big or go home.’ This is how he set about helping to organize successful events. He would always think of how he could make the experience better and his genuine connection with people would bring it all together. His impact was felt in every community where he lived.”
Ellen Grewcock volunteered with Bruce for a decade on the board of the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame and in other capacities.
“His presence in our community was beyond what I have seen, whether he was on the ball diamond coaching, at the Raider games organizing special events, involved on a committee to bring events to Prince Albert or organizing them once the city was selected to host.
I worked with Bruce during the 2014 Winter Games and as usual you could see him doing many things beyond what his role was. Bruce was instrumental in bringing the 55+Senior Games to Prince Albert and when we were selected to host, little did he know it would be a two-plus-year commitment as the Games were cancelled in March of 2020, before eventually continuing in 2022. Bruce stayed with the committee and never missed a meeting in spite of his battle with cancer.”
Bruce and Felix Casavant dedicated significant time to the amateur softball community in Prince Albert, working together for the Senior Men’s Worlds Softball Qualifier and Championship.
“Bruce was a tireless volunteer who was always willing to do anything that your committee required to make sure the event was a success. He would also want to put in some extra effort to make the event even more special for teams and players who came from all over Canada and the world to play softball in Prince Albert. Bruce was a remarkable human being. I greatly admire the energy and enthusiasm he consistently demonstrated during his volunteer engagements. He is just simply the BEST as a person, volunteer and as a community-minded citizen of Prince Albert, who would always go that extra mile to showcase the city he was so proud of.
I know Bruce will be watching from above to make sure the World Cup in 2025 is a success. We will all honour him by having all our volunteers bare his initial on their t-shirts and he has been named as our Honorary Chair for the 2025 Men’s World Cup Final being held in Prince Albert, July 8-13, 2025.”
Al Dyer volunteered alongside Bruce on and off for years, first meeting in 2003. Their recent time together was dedicated to the 2023 Esso Cup, Special Olympics fundraising and work with the Prince Albert Bears.
“It was phenomenal how much treatment he received and how strong he remained throughout everything. I mean he would show up if he made a commitment. He would make it happen…he always showed up, he was always there and it’s a testament to the fact that he felt so terrible and he would be giving 110 per cent. That was the foundation of everything, that he did it not for himself, but for the good of the community or the organization that he was volunteering for.
He would rally and his spirit, it’s just the strength of character that he had; that he would never let his disease hold him back, or anybody back. He didn’t want anybody to feel sorry for him when he was ill.”
Lyle Karasuk knew Bruce for many years, recalling that the two first connected at a community event. Most recently, Karasuk and Bruce volunteered together with Relay for Life.
“Whether it is local, provincial or national events, Prince Albert has hosted quite a few and Bruce was part of them all.
Commitment and dedication were at the heart of Bruce’s participation, more evident when Bruce was first diagnosed with cancer. Bruce was then the business manager for the Prince Albert Raiders Hockey Club and the organization had rallied around Bruce by appointing a team, Team Bruce! While the day came for the Relay event, a beautiful sun-shining moment, teams began arriving in Prime Ministers Park to set up their camp sites. As the day progressed and more people arrived team captain Bruce was nowhere to be found. Turns out Bruce had his very first chemotherapy treatment that day. It was doubtful he’d be there. As the time for Opening Ceremonies got closer, Bruce arrived. Yep, knowing his colleagues were there for him, he came home from his first chemo treatment and went straight to the Relay for Life event.”
