Smith, Nestor, Linden Receive Order of Canada Nods

Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) Vice-President Tricia Smith, tennis star Daniel Nestor and hockey player Trevor Linden have been appointed to the Order of Canada. The Order recognizes a “lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation.”

Tricia Smith (at left in photo) has had a long storied career in Canadian sport both as an athlete and as a leader. A four-time Olympic rower, she won silver in 1984 to complement seven World Championship medals and a 1986 Commonwealth Games gold medal. Afterward, she has had tremendous influence on Canada’s sport system.

Over three decades with the COC, she was first a member of the Athletes’ Council and, progressively, part of the Executive, Team Selection, Games, Governance and Compensation Committees. In March 2009, she was elected COC Vice-President.

Smith led Canada into the 2007 Pan Am Games as Chef de Mission. She helped secure the 2010 Olympic Winter Games as a key member of the Vancouver 2010 Bid Committee. For rowing, she is a long-time executive member of the International Rowing Federation and chair of its Women’s Commission. A practicing lawyer, Smith has been involved in sport arbitration for many years and sits on the International Council of Arbitration for Sport.

Daniel Nestor is a name familiar to even the most passing Canadian tennis fan. He has spent 87 weeks in his career ranked world No. 1 in doubles and has, since 1991, earned 71 doubles titles (the most among any active player). That includes six Grand Slams, and that includes the 2008 and 2009 Wimbledon crowns.

Nestor, who was born in Belgrade and came to Canada at age four, has represented his adoptive country at the past three Olympic Games. In his first, Sydney in 2000, Nestor went the distance winning doubles gold with partner Montreal’s Sebastien Lareau. That remains a historic moment for Canada as the country’s sole Olympic tennis medal.

Through an annual charity event, Nestor has raised more than $700,000. His 2010 event benefitted the North York General Hospital and Tennis Canada’s Go For Gold Program.

Trevor Linden is a legend of the Vancouver Canucks. He scored 867 points in 16 years in the National Hockey League, playing in 1,382 games. For Canada, Linden played at the 1991 World Championships. Seven years later, the winger took to the ice in Nagano in his one Olympic appearance, with Canada finishing fourth.

He has been extremely active off the ice, supporting his community. He has helped raise millions for pediatric cancer care as chair of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Cops for Cancer bike tours. He was also spokesperson for the organization’s prevention campaign in B.C. while cycling for the BC Cancer Foundation’s fundraiser. He has used his profile to raise funds for B.C. Special Olympians, the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Terry Fox Family’s Fundraiser and the Michael Cuccione Foundation’s Skate for a Cure. He continues to help children with special needs through, most notably, his Trevor Linden Foundation.

As a player, Linden was dedicated to community activism, supporting the Canucks for Kids Fund, the Ronald McDonald House of BC, and many charity events and golf tournaments. He always made efforts to visit children and families who were experiencing difficult times.