Bailey Sutherland, Daily Herald
A well-loved chiropractor from the community retired Thursday.
Dr. Reg Martsinkiw said goodbye to his practice Aug. 22 after 53 years of servicing Prince Albert residents. After moving to Prince Albert with his family in 1966, Dr. Martsinkiw contributed heavily to the community’s development.
“We came to this community in 1966, made our home here, and we honestly feel like we couldn’t have come to a better place. We are so saturated with volunteers here, and we’re close to the lakes, what a great place to raise a family”.
From being a part of the creation of the Prince Albert Raiders, to serving in the Prince Albert Police Commission, Martsinkiw claims he didn’t do it all alone, “I didn’t do this, the people did this. I just happened to be a part of it. We had so much success”.
Martsinkiw says his favourite part of managing hockey teams was forming “team chemistry” between the players to win championships. When the Raiders went to playoffs the first year in the league with Reg leading the way, over 4600 people showed up to support them, according to Martsinkiw. He became the Charter President of the Prince Albert Raiders Hockey Club from 1971 to 1974 after serving on the Civic Facilities Fundraising Committee for the construction of Prince Albert’s beloved Art Hauser Centre, an accomplishment that Martsinkiw says they did all on their own.
“We built that thing and put people into it without any money from the government at all,” he said.
“We raised all the money ourselves”.
He managed the Prince Albert North Stars for three years in the mid 80’s, leading them to winning two provincial titles, as well as spearheading the Prince Albert Minor Hockey Development System. After so many successes in sports development, Reg was inducted into the Prince Albert Hall Of Fame in 2009 and was the first person named to the Prince Albert Raiders Wall of Honour in the Builders category in 2007.
Dr. Reg Martsinkiw was involved in more than just sports throughout his time in Prince Albert. He chaired the 911 Committee Fundraiser for Prince Albert; the city is the only community in North America to install a 911 system without any cost to taxpayers. He says he owes his drive for serving the city to a philosophy he learned from long-time friend and former mayor for Prince Albert, Val Longworth, which he says he wishes more people would live by, “When you live in a community, you have to give to that community”.
After his retirement, Dr. Martsinkiw says he will be redirecting his focus to his health. After being diagnosed three and a half years ago with terminal cancer, he was given only six months to live.
Reg is convinced he will beat it. The cancer “ate” his hips, he said, and he will be receiving a hip replacement on Monday.
“It will feel so beautiful, so good, to wake up on Tuesday morning with no pain”, after the procedure, he said.
He said the key to survival is staying functional.
–with files from Peter Lozinski
