I’d like to talk about politicians for a minute.
Some politicians seek and win office for personal glory.
Some believe they are messengers sent to change society by delivering divinely inspiring wisdom only they can decipher.
Some see it as a way to make extra money for a second home or trips abroad.
Some believe they’re part of a family dynasty elected to their positions because they think they somehow come from a superior gene pool.
Frank Vercouteren, who spent parts of five decades serving the community as a member of municipal councils representing Ridgetown, Blenheim, and eventually Chatham-Kent, was none of those.
Frank passed away earlier this month at the age of 86, after several years of declining health.
He was, for the most part, a quiet man who strove to do what he believed in, while always being open to listening to the other side.
He was initially opposed to 1998’s amalgamation of Chatham-Kent, believing that local townships and towns were working on a more co-operative approach to sharing services and didn’t need provincial interference.
No local politician could have been prepared for the massive wave of change that the Harris government was preparing to unleash on Ontario and when the extent of that change became apparent, Frank worked diligently to make the new system function.
Not that he wasn’t passionate about his positions. I’ve seen him angry (usually because someone had criticized his integrity) and there wasn’t any doubt that he could hold his own in an argument.
When the issue was settled, he moved on to the next without needing to humiliate or belittle those with whom he had disagreed.
Frank was far more than a political figure.
A man of many diverse careers (hair dressing, auctioneering, real estate, pheasant raising), he somehow also found the time to be involved in community organizations encompassing a wide variety of interests.
For decades, if it happened in South Kent, Frank was either in charge of it, part of it, or at the very least aware of it.
A list of his accomplishments would fill more space than I have here, although among his proudest was chairing the International Plowing Match in 1979.
He was a man who put community ahead of self. We are poorer for his passing.
