EXCLUSIVE: guest list for 1-year Olympic countdown

The invitation says "Share the Moment on February 12th, 2009: You are invited to a special celebration of the one-year countdown to 2010."

The invitations were non-transferrable. If you didn't have one, you couldn't get in to the official countdown event. The only event of its type in Metro Vancouver. Guest registration was 3:30 p.m., doors closed and the pre-show began at 4:30 p.m.
The live countdown event began at 5 p.m. It climaxed at 6 p.m. which is the time the 2010 Winter Olympics' opening ceremony at B.C. Place Stadium will begin on Feb. 12, 2010.

Vancouver 24 hours' Freedom of Information request to the provincial government yielded the guest list for the 1,152 capacity event "plus 32 VIP seats, plus a separate bleacher for Olympians and hopefuls" according to a Feb. 6 email from Christine Little of the B.C. Winter Games Secretariat to Secretariat president Philip Steenkamp. VANOC employees were also welcome, if they showed their office access identity tags.

The exclusive, by invitation only event was in the west end of the massive Richmond Olympic Oval, which will hold 8,000 for speedskating competitions during the 2010 Games. Below is the list provided to 24 hours by the Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for the Olympics. (Note to other media: please credit Bob Mackin/2010 Gold Rush.)

VIPs:
Min. State for Sport Gary Lunn and Mrs. Lunn, HBC CEO Jeff Sherman, Chief Leonard George, IOC president Jacques Rogge and Mrs. Rogge, VANOC directors Peter Brown, Chris Rudge, VANOC chairman Jack Poole and Mrs. Poole, CEO John Furlong, IOC coordination commission Rene Fasel, IOC exec. dir. Gilbert Felli, IOC president's office Marina Barmia, Canadian Olympic Committee president Michael Chambers, Greek NOC president Minos Kyriakou, USOC president Larry Probst, Great Britain NOC president Colin Moynihan, Russian NOC president Leonid Tyagacheve and Mrs. Tyagechev, Mrs. Avtyakina, Mr. Karkulov, Russian Ski Federation general secretary Georgi Mnatsakanov.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS:
Alberta: Ministers Cindy Ady and Linday Blackett, executive director Russ Tynan. Manitoba: Min. Eric Robinson and Carhterine Robinson, special assistant Matthew Williamson, director Rob Kennedy, assistant director Michael Benson, aboriginal consultant Lisa Meeches; Nova Scotia: Min. Carolyn Bolivar-Getson, executive asst. Elmer Garger, senior director Games Tracey Williams; Ontario: Min. Margaret Best, sports policy advisor Clarecia Christie, director Janie Romoff; Quebec: Min. Michelle Courchesne, deputy min. information and communication Marie-CLaude Champoux, political attache Sebastien Lachaine; Yukon: Premier Dennis Fentie, asst. Sheila Clark.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND FIRST NATIONS:
Federal Winter Games Secretariat director general David Robinson, regional dept. liaison Jacquie Prokopanko, Michelle Yao, Min. of Canadian Heritage James Moore, regional exec. dir. Denny Gelinas, exec. dir. Denis Racine, dep. min. Judith LaRocque, asst. dep. min. Marie-Genevieve Mounier, asst. dep. min. Nicole Bourget, integrated federal services director Gail Stewart, Sport Canada dir. gen. Gilles Dery, Dept. Foreign Affairs dir. Steve Cote, Public Works reg. dir. gen. Alain Trepanier, Western Economic Diversification asst. dep. min. Gerry Salembier, Richmond MP Alice Wong, RCMP Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit Asst. Comm. Bud Mercer, Four Host First Nations directors Julie Baker, Ruth Dick, Allyson Fraser, Connie Wilson, Lil-wat chief Leonard Andrew, Musqueam chief Ernie Campbell, Tsleil-Waututh chief Leah George-Wilson, Squamish chief Bill Williams.

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT:
Ed Fast (Abbotsord), Richard Harris (Cariboo-Prince George), Chuck Strahl (Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon), John Cummins (Richmond East), Nina Grewal (Fleetwood-Port Kells), Cathy McLeod (Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo), Ron Cannan (Kelowna-Lake Country), Jim Abbott (Kootenay-Columbia), Mark Warawa (Langley), James Lunney (Nanaimo-Alberni), Sukh Dhaliwal (Newton-North Delta), Andrew Saxton (North Vancouver), Stockwell Day (Okanagan-Coquihalla), Colin Mayes (Okanagan-Shuswap), Randy Kamp (Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission), Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River), Russ Hiebert (South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale), Dona Cadman (Surrey North), John Duncan (Vancouver Island North), John Weston (West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea-to-Sky country).

MAYORS:
Coquitlam: Richard Stewart, New Westminster: Wayne Wright, North Vancouver District: Richard Walton, Surrey: Dianne Watts, Victoria: Dean Fortin, West Vancouver: Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Richmond: Malcolm Brodie; Vancouver: Gregor Robertson; Whistler: Ken Melamed.
Mayors
Ft. St. John: Bruce Lantz; Golden: Aman Virk; Invermere: Gerry Taft; Kamloops: Peter Milobar; Kelowna: Sharon Shepherd; Langley: Rick Green; Lillooet: Dennis Bontron; Merritt: Susan Roline; Nanaimo: John Ruttan; Nelson: John Dooley; Osoyoos: Stu Wells; Penticton: Dan Ashton; Port Alberni: Ken McRae; Port Hardy: Ben Parnham; Powell River: Stewart Alsgard; Prince George: Dan Rogers; Prince Rupert: Jack Mussallem; Queen Charlotte: Carol Kulesha; Quesnel: Mary Sjostrom; Revelstoke: David Raven; Salmon Arm: Marty Bootsma; Sechelt: Darren Inkster; Smithers: Cress Farrow; Squamish: Greg Gardner; Terrace: David Pernarowski; Tofino: John Fraser; Trail: Dieter Bogs; Vernon: Wayne Lippert; Williams Lake: Kerry Cook.
100 Mile House: Mitch Campsall; Abbotsford: George Peary; Burns Lake: Bernice Magee; Campbell River: Charlie Cornfield; Central Coast dir. Rhoda Bolton; Chilliwack: Sharon Gaetz; Courtenay: Greg Phelps; Coquitlam: Richard Stewart; Cranbrook: Scott Manjak; Creston: Ron Toyota; Dawson Creek: Mike Bernier; Duncan: Phil Kent; Fort Nelson: Bill Streeper.

CITY OF VANCOUVER:
Dir. Olympic transportation Dale Bracewell, Coun. David Cadman, Coun. George Chow, VPD chief JIm Chu, Coun. Heather Deal, dir. community relations Olympic and Paralympic operations Greg Eng, Coun. Geoff Meggs, managing director Cultural Services Sue Harvey, dir. Olympic and Paralympic ops. Paul Henderson, Coun. Raymond Louie, project manager Olympic and Paralympic ops Joe Martignago, Parks Board general manager Susan Mundick, Coun. Andrea Reimer, dep. city manager James Ridge, Coun. Tim Stevenson, Coun. Ellen Woodsworth, Coun. Suzanne Anton, asst. city mgr. Wendy Au, city mgr./VANOC board member Penny Ballem.

CITY OF RICHMOND:
Councillors: Linda Barnes, Derek Dang, Evelina Halsey-Brandt, Greg Halsey-Brandt, Sue Halsey-Brandt, Ken Johnston, Bill McNulty, Harold Steves; GM law and community safety Phylis Carlyle, GM Olympic office Jeff Day, chief admin. George Duncan, GM planning Joe Erceg, GM public works Robert Gonzalez, GM corporate services Mike Kirk, GM finance Andrew Nazareth, dir. Olympic office Kate Sparrow, sr. mgr. communications Ted Townsend, GM parks and recreation Cathy Volkering-Carlil, dir. Olympic legacies Gary Young, dir. major projects Greg Scott.

Richmond Olympic Oval board: Roger Barnes, Vic Farmer, Moray Keith, Stanley Kwok, Umendra Mital, Anna Nyarady, Michael O'Brien (chairman), Linda Sanderson, David Thom; Richmond Chamber of Commerce exec. dir. Craig Jones, president Leslie Mathieson.
Richmond Olympic Oval: general manager John Mills; Richmond School Board: supt. Bruce Beaistro; chair Linda MacPhail; Richmond Spirit Committee/Torch Relay Community Task Force chair Ed Gavsie; RIchmond Sports Council co-chair Jim Lamond; Tourism Richmond pres. Chris Browne, exec. dir. Tracy Lakeman.

DISTRICT OF WEST VANCOUVER:
Dir. Olympic services and projects Josie Chuback, chief administrator Grant McRadu, 2010 Leadership team Andrea Southcott, Richard Warke.and Rob Whittle.

RESORT MUNICIPALITY OF WHISTLER:
exec. dir. 2010 Games Jim Godrey, Coun. Grant Lamont, Coun. Ted Milner, Coun. Christopher Quinlan, strategic alliance mgr. John Rae, Coun. Tom Thompson, Coun. Eckhard Zeidler.

CITY OF SURREY:
Asst. city mgr. Dan Bottrill, mgr. parks and rec. Laurie Cavan; Coun. Linda Hepner, acting mgr. film and special events Dan Nielsen; Spirit of BC committee co-chair Bill Reid.

SPONSORS/PARTNERS/OTHERS
HBC exec Joe Ferraro, Tourism BC VP Raymond Chan, Tourism Vancouver VP Walt Judas, 3M corp. comm. Cathie Hastings, Marnie McKerlie, business development mgr. Barry Parkinson, Acer marketing director Gianpeiro Morbello, Acklands-Grainger Steve Ince, Leslie Murray, Aggreko dir. North American events Gary Meador, Air Canada dir. marketing Denis Vandal, Aquilini Investment Group dir. of development Michael Guenter, Atos Origin chief integrator Magnus Alvarsson, Barnescraig and Assoc. Games ambassador Tricia Smith, BC Hydro CEO Bob Elton, dir. 2010 initiatives Ann English, BC Lottery Corp. 2010 director Monica Bohm, Bell Canada VP Loring Phinney, Bell Web Solutions gen. mgr. communications Zahra Rajani, Birks VP Dan Kratchovil, Blake Cassels and Graydon Marvin Storrow, Bombardier dir. communications, Isabelle Rondeau, senior advisor Karina Ruffo Leduc; Britco dir. strategic planning Chris Garder.
Pemberton Medical Clinic Hugh Fisher, Canada Line Jane Bird, Canada Post mgr. stamp program Elia Anoia, sponsor and events officer Evelyn Carleton, dir. marketing and communications Catherine Riggins, Canada Wide Magazines Peter Legge, Canadian Pacific man. marketing and communications Monique Blough, Dan Winiski, Canwest VP Jamie Pitblado, CC Rennie Marketing Systems Angelica Yang, Century Plaza Hotel and Spa Wendy Lisogar-Cocchia, BC Pavilion Corp. CEO Warren Buckley, KidSport Canada CEO Sandra Stevenson, Sport BC CEO Paul Varian, ex-Vancouver mayor Philip Owen, Canadian Olympic Committee Dave Bedford, COC Kathrin Mertens, Lou Raganin.
Aboriginal Youth First coordinator Amy Johnson; B.C. Lions dir. corporate partnerships Phil Adams, Connor Adams, sr. mgr. marketing Terri Breker, head coach and GM Wally Buono, dir. communications Jamie Cartmell, VP business George Chayka, dir. operations Devon Guest, dir. community relations Jamie Taras, sr. mgr. ticket sales Justin McIntyre; Vancouver Whitecaps
Head coach Teitur Thordarson, asst. coach Todd Wawrousek, residency head coach Bart Choufour.

PREMIER'S ATHLETIC AWARDS:
Athletes: Ruky Abdulai, Blanca Adolf, Tyler Allison, Lauren Barwick, Derrick Bassi, Hirendra Bhartu, Khristina Blajkevitch, Thomas Brinknman, Victoria Chong, Marlene Cleutinx, Ryan Cochrane, Kristina Collins, Robert Couzens, Matt Crosby, Sam Danniels, Jasmyne DenHollander, Shaun Dhillon, Miranda Dick, James Dunaway, Dustyn Fisher, Jordan Fraser, Keith Gagnon, James Gemmell, Curtis Gerein, Wiktoria Glowczynski, Mithcell Grandberg, Shona Guerrero, Nikolai Haessig, Nigel Harman, Tarrah Harvey, Nicole Haywood, Jessica Hewitt, Peggy Hsien, Harry Jones, Sue Kim, Savannah King, Adrian Lee, Melody Liang, Daniel Longo, Michelle Lord, Stacie Louttit, Dorothy Ludwig, Ross MacDonald, Matt MacKenzie, Charlotte Mackie, Demetra Mantcheva, Shanice Marcelle, Alysson Marshall, Michael Mason, Tik Maynard, Maddison McCammon, Kathleen McDonald, Scott McGrandle, John McRoberts, Matthew Neumann, Toby Ng, Robbie Patterson, Gord Perrin, Jeffrey Phillips, Monica Pinette, Joninne Pinnell, Rebecca Pretious, Brenna Price, Conrad Pridy, Cory Rasmussen, Ryan Reid, Darrell Robinson, Jacqueline Roy, Michael Rusk, Richard Scammell, Helen Schettini, Jody Schuurman, Cassandra Shier, Jasvir Singh, Kerry Spearing, Hudson Stewart, Megan Tandy, Nick Taylor, Donovan Tildesley, Jackie Trautman, Katie Turney, Mathew Venner, Sabriana Versteeg, Jusleen Virk, Kevin Vos, Morgan Weller, Christopher Werrell, Elisha Williams, Katelynn Williams, Veronica Winter, Avital Yarosky.

AMATEUR SPORTS TEAMS (note: names were censored at source)
KidSport figure skating: 1 coach, 4 skaters
Phoenix Gymnastics: 99
Richmond City Galaxy: 1 manager, 1 coach, 5 players
Richmond Crashers U-7: 5 players, 3 coaches, 2 parents
Richmond Devils U-9: 1 coach, 2 asst. coaches, 12 players
Richmond Girls U-7: 1 coach, 6 players
Richmond Girls U12 Rangers: 1 coach, 1 player
Richmond Girls U16 Force: 1 coach, 9 players
Richmond Gladiators U9: 5 players, 3 fathers, 2 mothers, 1 coach
Richmond Hornets U7: 11 players, 1 coach
Richmond Madrid Selects: 6 players
Richmond Rangers U11: 1 manager, 5 players
Richmond Rangers U12: 1 manager, 1 coach, 20 family
Richmond Rapidas U18: 1 coach, 2 players
Richmond Rebels U15: 6 players, 1 manager
Richmond Red Hot Raiders U10: 1 coach, 2 players
Richmond Red Hot Selects: 7 players
Richmond Red Hot Selects and Richmond Madrid Selects: 1 coach
Richmond Red Rockets U7: 1 coach, 5 players
Richmond Soccer: 1 coach, 38 players
Richmond Soccer U10 Bullets: 13 players, 1 coach, 1 asst. coach
Richmond Soccer U12 Hornets: 11 players, 1 manager, 1 coach, 1 asst. coach
Richmond Soccer U8 Penguins: 1 coach, 3 players
Richmond Soccer Wolf Pack U-13: 1 manager, 1 coach, 1 asst. coach, 15 players
Richmond Stingers U-5: 1 coach, 33 players
Richmond Superstars U-8 Girls: 1 coach, 5 players, 9 family members of players
Richmond Terminators U-10: 7 players, 1 coach
Richmond U-18 soccer: 1 coach, 19 players
Richmond U-15 Strikers: 1 coach, 14 players
Richmond Vipers U10: 6 players 1 coach
Richmond Devils Tier I midget female hockey team: 1 coach, 1 asst. coach, 1 asst. coach/mgr., 16 players
Inner City lacrosse group: 1 parent/VP minor, 1 parent/pres., 1 parent/head ref., 1 parent equipment, 1 past pres., 1 secretary, 2 grandparents, 26 players
Strathcona Community Centre: 50 inner city youth
KidSport BC: 3 child participants; dir. Pete Quevillon

MEDIA (note: 24 hours was added later and attended):
AP: Jeremy Hainsworth; CP: Stephanie Levitz, Jonathon Hayward; CTV (no name); Fairchild radio Ivy Ng, TV Philip Yong, Shelley Huang; Global Chinese Press: Frank; Global TV: Simon Bonaface; Globe and Mail: Rod Mickleburgh, John Leehmann; Ming Pao: Eric Chan; Omni TV: Fiona Law, Jeff Bassi and cameraman; Sing Tao: Xim (Simon) Uchen, QiWen (Wendy) Li; Westca: QiWen (Wendy) Li, Bin (Robin) Wan; World Journal: Carol Shiao, Robert Chu;
CP: Julie Scott; CTV: Sarah Galashan; Fashion magazine: Rebecca Tay; Globe and Mail: Matt Sekeres; Nuvo magazine: Claudia Cusano; Reuters: Stephen Keating; TSN: Farhan Lalji; Sharp magazine: Carol Besler; Vancouver Sun: Ray Constantineau;
China: World Traveller: Lin Ying Xu, Jun Xue Zhang; Italy: Sky TV: Eleonora Cottarelli, Salvatore Di Fresco; Germany: ARD First German TV: Thorsten von Wege, Mass Abedi, plus camera and sound people; Focus: Fritz Schwab; Japan: Asahi newspaper: Keiji Kasaki, Toshihiro Kitagawa, Kyodo News: Mitsuko Volek, Yomiuri NY: Takafumi Okada, Staoshi Oga; Yomiuri: Shunjiro Endo; South Korea: Yonhap: Byong Guy Park, Yun Jung Haung, Tae Ho Kim, Jae Ho Lee; Spain: Lifetime: Josep Miguel Perez Perello; Switzerland: Keystone: Alexandra Way, SF1: TBD, Sportinformation: Jolanda Van der Graaf; United Kingdom: The Telegraph: Nick Smith; USA: Omega TV: Roger Bartley, Aaron Johnston, Rayn Kerbes.

Update on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic blunderdome

NDP house leader Mike Farnworth said the priority of taxpayer-owned B.C. Pavilion Corporation should be to immediately fix the latest woes that plague B.C. Place Stadium. He also said management should be re-evaluated because, for the second time in 15 months, management is under fire for a lack of training and procedures. The stadium is also cited in a City of Vancouver electrical bylaw order after a March 10 incident.

This time it's WorkSafe BC, the provincial workplace safety regulator, which charged Pavco under section 115(2)(e) of the Workers Compensation Act. Without proper training and procedures, the workplace is unsafe.

Pavco president Warren Buckley did his best to stick up for those working under him at the dome. So much that he claims they are properly trained... but maybe not so well-trained that he would dispute the findings of the WorkSafe BC investigation.

Bill Bennett, the Liberal cabinet minister responsible for Pavco and the stadium, didn't respond to interview requests via his East Kootenay campaign office or his office at the Legislature.

So where is VANOC in all of this?

Silent and too scared to talk.

The Vancouver Olympic committee moves in this November, after the B.C. Lions' Canadian Football Season is over, and occupies the stadium until late March 2010. I repeatedly phoned and e-mailed vice-president of communications Renee Smith-Valade and media relations director Chris Brumwell on Tuesday seeking an interview with CEO John Furlong, venue manager Ron Cameron and/or ceremonies producer David Atkins. None were made available to answer questions.

B.C. Place Stadium is where the Games will begin Feb. 12, 2010 and end Feb. 28, 2010. Those two events will draw the biggest TV audiences and rake-in the biggest ticket take for the entire Games. It is the most important spectator venue of the Games. It may be argued that it is the most important building in the province for the time being. Certainly VANOC must value the stadium and be concerned about how it's being operated? If another disaster like Jan. 5, 2007 happens during the Olympics, British Columbia will be the Most Embarrassed Place on Earth.

Is it just me, or does it appear there is a collective finger-crossing among the powers that be, as they hope and pray beyond all hope that the roof won't come down because somebody screws up?

Workers at risk in Vancouver's Olympic stadium

January 5 was the first Friday of 2007. Canada was winning the world junior hockey championship, live on TSN. B.C. Place Stadium operations manager Brian Griffin was under the big top.

Before the noon hour was over, the roof ripped under an avalanche of heavy, wet snow and ice and collapsed. Controlled deflation was the euphemism du jour. Kind of a wardrobe malfunction, but for a stadium. The images were seen around the world. International media noticed because it's the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. You can still see eyewitness video on YouTube.

A week later, general manager Howard Crosley continued to deny snow was a factor.

A year later, he had to eat his words when Geiger Engineers and the stadium's Joint Health and Safety Committee confirmed what I reported from day one: the stadium's snow melting system was not employed on Jan. 5, 2007, despite several alarms that snow was piling up on the air-supported fabric roof.

The Joint Health and Safety Committee Investigation Report; B.C. Place Roof Deflation Incident of Jan. 5, 2007 said "a general 'blindness' and lack of understanding and training related to the roof support systems, operating within an environment where policies and procedures were full of holes, had allowed snow accumulation to go unnoticed. Poor or very little roof‐in crisis identification, assessment and training along with conflicting control room systems all came into play to cause the damage to the west triangle panel."

Geiger's Oct. 12, 2007 Roof Deflation Incident Investigation Engineer's Report said:
Operating staff should receive additional training in the behaviour of air-supported roofs structure under various loads and conditions; Instruction on the behaviour of the roof in response to various commands to the control system; and regular refresher courses should be given.

Fast forward to April 9, 2009, two years and three months after the incident... one year and three months after the reports were published...

A WorkSafe BC investigator found B.C. Place Stadium in violation of the Workers Compensation Act because "The employer has not provided the control room operators, responsible for the air supported roof, with adequate information, instruction, training and supervision to ensure the health and safety of those workers in carrying out their work and to ensure the health and safety of other workers in the workplace."

The investigator also found the Joint Health and Safety Committee defied the Act by not meeting in February, March and December 2008.

It's all in a nine-page report that arrived via a plain brown envelope.

This is the Olympic Stadium for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Will the roof fall again before or during the Olympics?

This is the property of the people of British Columbia, operated by the B.C. Pavilion Corporation whose chairman is David Podmore, friend of Premier Gordon Campbell and president of Concert Properties, whose chairman is VANOC chairman Jack Poole.

This is the building that is undergoing $365 million in renovations, apparently without a funding formula and business plan. I have sought it via Freedom of Information. I wonder if it exists? All we have, so far, are these three-and-a-half pages.

Will this be the west coast's version of Montreal 1976's Big Owe?