‘It is tearing him up inside’
Broncos president is franchise’s face in a time of tragedy
Harland Garinger watched along with the rest of the country as Kevin Garinger read a long, sombre list of names Sunday night.
Harland’s son, the president of the Humboldt Broncos, fought off tears and remained remarkably steady as he read the names of those killed and injured in Friday ’s tragic bus crash during a vigil in the east-central Saskatchewan city. But Harland knew what was going on inside.
“He’s got a massive heart and he is staying professional ... even though it is tearing him up inside,” said Harland.
Kevin Garinger has been the face of the Broncos franchise in the aftermath of the tragedy that killed 10 of the team’s players, two coaches, a statistician, a radio announcer and the bus driver. Through updates to the community and media interviews, Garinger has held it together around something that would understandably rip many people apart.
He’s also dealing with the tragedy on several fronts. After Kevin Garinger, team president, released the first official statement from the Broncos on Friday night, a letter was sent to parents and caregivers in the Humboldt area from Kevin Garinger, director of education and CEO of the Horizon School Division. Garinger was also billet parent to one of the players killed and his oldest of three sons was the best friend of one of the coaches who died.
“I feel his pain every time I see him interviewed,” said Harland, a retired teacher from Creighton, Sask. “That’s been his life — the betterment of kids. That’s part and parcel of why he’s been able to handle this as well as he has.”
Kevin comes from a family of educators and coaches, having coached hockey and fastball himself. His sister Kim (also an educator) is married to former Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League coach Blaine Sautner.
“(Kevin is) the type of guy that can handle this,” said Sautner. “With his job as director, he’s thrown into a lot of different situations and he knows how to deal with adversity.”
Like many, Sautner is still trying to wrap his head around the whole situation that unfolded on one of the roads he knew well from his time on the buses while coaching the Battlefords North Stars.
“I know that same corner,” said Sautner. “You just don’t think of it as a possibility.”
Sautner would often take his children — Tori and Ashton (now a defenceman with the Vancouver Canucks) — on the bus for road trips to Flin Flon, Man., to visit their grandparents.
“It’s supposed to be a safe and fun place to be with your teammates,” said Sautner.
Kevin has kept the focus squarely on those teammates from the Broncos since Friday, while also understanding how much the loss has affected others.
“This isn’t about Humboldt,” he said at a news conference Sunday. “It’s not even about Saskatchewan. It’s about Canada and our world. People want to know what’s happening. People care.”
Harland and his wife Fran were in Edmonton with Kevin on Friday when he first got the news before rushing back to Humboldt. Since then, for Kevin, it has been a whirlwind of processing and dispensing information.
“He volunteered to be the president of the Broncos, but he didn’t volunteer for this,” said Harland. “But he’s getting through it.
“Fran and I are real proud of him.”