REMEMBERING A FRIEND

Jim Peplinski still remembers that day some 30 years ago.
The conversation they had.
The greeting they shared, with that forcible grip of the man nearly knocking him off balance and commanding his attention.
Most of all, he remembers the coaching. The life lessons. The irreversible bond between himself and one of the city's great change-makers that wouldn't have been possible without a mutual vision for Calgary.

Ken King had that kind of impact on everyone he met, shook hands with, or even said a quick 'hello' to.
"He was the publisher of the Calgary Sun at the time," Peplinski said, reflecting on his buddy's life-well-lived. "I was pitching him through the Sun to participate in a philanthropic initiative and he said, 'Well, which of the three categories is it?' I said, 'What do you mean?' And he said, 'Sit down. I'm going to give you lesson.'
"I was like, 'OK…'
"He says, directly, 'In any type of philanthropy, there are three categories. One is commercial, and that's where you're pitching me the opportunity to advertise. The second is quid pro quo - you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. The third? That's completely philanthropic. I'm going to give you some money and I shouldn't expect anything in return other than supporting the cause.'
"I said, 'Wow, I'd never thought of it like that before.'
"That's how it always was with Ken. I'd hang up the phone, or leave a meeting with him like I did that day, and think to myself: 'Damn, I never thought of it like that! I've got to think about it.'
"And I did. Hundreds and hundreds of times."
King - a giant in the Alberta sporting community, the longtime leader of Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation, a husband, father, and trailblazer for so many - passed away last March at the age of 68 after a battle with cancer.
On Saturday, with the Flames back on Saddledome ice for the first time since, the organization paid tribute with a beautiful pre-game ceremony celebrating the life of their boss.
Their friend.

King was never afraid to take chances.
He never took no for an answer and demanded the best of himself and those around him.
"He moved to the Herald around the time I stopped playing hockey," Peplinski said. "We started working out in the Herald gym and every once and a while, we'd link up and talk about everyday things.
"I always found him very interesting, very thoughtful, and he had no problem arguing about my views, so we always had a good exchange."
King was the ultimate deep thinker and had a way with words that rivalled the best our country has to offer.
Those are but a few of the hallmark skills great leaders have - the ability to communicate, innovate, and inspire.
All three King learned at a young age.
Peplinski - an original Flame, who made the squad as a rookie in 1980-81, and played on the team through the Stanley Cup celebration nine years later - became close friends with King soon after and learned of these qualities, first hand.

"Ken was a very bright guy," Peplinski said. "He had boundless energy, a sharp intellect and an ability to communicate, and certainly had an inquiring mind. He liked variety. He worked himself from the newspaper business from the ground up. He grew up very, very poor in Hanley, Sask.
"He worked his way up. Had to.
"And always did."
King, who was a publisher with the Sun from 1988-96, and the Calgary Herald from 1996-99, left the newspaper business to become the Flames President and CEO in 2001. Having forged both a close friendship and a strong business relationship, Peplinski was brought on to serve the team's Vice President of Business Development alongside him for nearly two decades.
"When he came in, the Flames were the Flames," Peplinski said. "Now the Flames are the Flames, the Hitmen, the Roughnecks and the Stampeders, and there's a new building on the way.
"If you gave him an opportunity, the only thing you could be certain of is that things would be different the next time you see him."
All these years later, Peplinski was one of the few to learn of King's health issues, and was right there alongside him for the battle.
King never complained - leaving what his longtime pal described as a "cowboy legacy," where he wouldn't be defined by the disease.
He never wanted the spotlight, but was unavoidably entrenched in it as the Flames' frontman for so many years.
But when it came to his personal life, that was different. It was private. The attention, always, needed to be on the team, first and foremost.
"That was him in a nutshell," Peplinski said. "Even when things looked bleak. But, damn, was he a fighter."

King had a sharp wit. Those around him - like 'Pep,' as he called him - did, too, and gave it right back as their own way of reciprocating great memories and love.
Somehow, though, King always had the upper hand.
"I remember playing Crib with him about a month or six weeks ago," Peplinski said back in March. "He was in a slump and didn't have a lot of strength at that time. But, you know Ken - he was still calling 'muggins' on me (a rule that allows your opponent to claim points
which you fail to score in your own hand or play, or forget to peg on the board).
"I was like, 'Gah! I missed that.'
"It wasn't that I was trying to let the sick guy win, you know? But we had a great laugh.
"That's one of those moments I'll keep with me forever."