Today’s blog was going to be the third in my Central Division breakdown series, I will post that tomorrow… today, I am not thinking much about hockey. I am thinking about Mark.
Mark Ford died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. If you have ever been to a Nashville Predators game, you have seen the work of Mark Ford. If you have watched channel 4 in Nashville anytime over the last 34 years, you have seen the work of Mark Ford. If you could indulge me, I would like to share a few stories, so you might get a sense of the man we are saying goodbye to…
Just about 12 years ago, I nervously attended my first 5pm meeting. The 5pm meeting is where the Game Ops team gets together and discusses the plans for the game that night. This was a team I had admired since day one of the franchise… the creative forces behind the hijinks in the game presentation I enjoyed as a day one season ticket holder. I clearly remember a big, guy walking into the dressing room, the way cleared, a seat was given and the meeting could begin because Mark was there. All business during the meeting, but you could see the twinkle in his eye, the mischievous wink. He welcomed me warmly and told me I would be fine, words I desperately needed to hear before my first game as PA Announcer. Oh... and I just knew he was going to be fun to work with.
And fun he was. Don’t get me wrong, Mark was a consummate professional, when you screwed up, he would let you know. His command skills were impeccable and could quiet the chatter on the game ops comm with a single word. But he was also quick with a compliment, with an instinctive understanding that the balance is critical.
Ahh… the comm. The comm is the system that everyone who is responsible for game ops uses to communicate with each other to execute the game ops plan for the game. Sometimes what goes on over the comm system is more fun that what’s going on in the arena. Look... the comm is like Vegas, what happens there stays there. Suffice to say, Mark was an expert at cracking the right joke, the right movie reference, the right “what the …… ???? at exactly the right time. I know the comm will be significantly less fun and I will miss hearing his every game comment of “Juust a bit outside.…
I remember how Mark would share his love for channel 4. WSMV was a big part of his life and a lot of game ops team has experience at 4. Mark was open in his caring and his concerns for WSMV. I do know that everyone I have met from channel 4 always mentioned Mark and how much they cared for him.
Mark Ford, above all else, was simply a good man and a great guy… with all the inferences you can draw from that. A day one employee of the Nashville Predators who cared fiercely about delivering excellence in every transition, every shot, every image that went out to the videoboard. I think our game ops leader, Brian Campbell said it best in his statement…
…Mark Ford was a member of our family and was looked upon as a mentor and friend to all our game night staff. Mark has been an absolute joy to work with over the past 20 years. His unmatched skill and tireless commitment to our organization produced a product that has significantly contributed to the evolution of Smashville from a struggling hockey market to destination that is the envy of others…
I cannot fathom walking into the 5pm meeting in a couple of weeks without Mark being there. He has been there since day one. We watched him fight this cancer, still coming in to work games, fending off the effects of chemo to still deliver excellence in every game presentation.
Our loss is nothing compared to the loss being experience by his wife Ethel, his children Adam and Andrea, his sister Karen and his grandchildren Luke, Brady and Caroline. To them I say, that your loss is shared by the Game Ops family… he will be sorely missed, but we take comfort in the fact that his pain is gone and he is resting in peace.
Godspeed Mark, we will miss you.