Pagan wins Friend of Sport Award

Ken Pagan is the proud winner of this year’s Peter Handley Friend of Sport Award.

For 8 years, Pagan served as the Sports Editor/Reporter for The Nugget. In that role, he made a significant impact on sport in the community and area.

Ken didn’t just do his job; he lived it.

From his very early days at the Nugget, he immersed himself in the sporting community. He believed in local coverage. During his tenure in North Bay, he set a very high standard for local coverage. Ken has a keen ability to go beyond the superficial coverage of a story and gives readers insight into the background of the story of the individual. His skill was recognized having received 5 nominations for Ontario Newspaper Awards for sport reporting and coverage.

But this is only part of the story. One of the reasons for his success as a reporter was his desire to take part in the sporting community as a participant. Not only did he participate, but he also excelled as an athlete. He primarily competed in baseball/softball and hockey.

When the North Bay Baseball League was formed, Ken was one of the first players. Not only was he one of the first players, he was one of the leagues top overall players, excelling in the field, on the mound and at the plate. He also took a leadership role in the league, assisting with the operation of the league and coaching the Assante team (A team that 3 league championships). Pagan achieved his own success winning the league 2004 while playing on the Bull & Quench team. He was also involved with coaching minor baseball.

He was coach to a peewee team for 4 years and assisted the Peewee Stingers in 2012. Ken also played fastball for a number of years.

Pagan was equally involved in numerous hockey leagues in the area.

He won 3 North Bay Company League championships, 3 Powassan League Championships and 2 Canadian Pond Hockey Championships.

He also played 11 seasons in the ball hockey league.

Ken Pagan not only reported on the sporting community, he was an integral part of the sporting community. He did so with no fanfare and through unselfish dedication of his time and talent. He provided athletes in the area their “15 minutes of fame” to local citizens.

Sports coverage in North Bay definitely benefited from Ken.

Pagan will recieve his award at the Best Western this Saturday, April 20th. Tickets for the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame dinner are still available by calling Bill Jacko at (705)476-1429.