Dan Morin was CEO of the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation (CNSF) for 18 years. He helped revamp the structure of the organization, find funding for the congress, organize the congress and personally make sure that every session went off without a hitch. He negotiated with pharmaceutical companies, hotel managers, Royal College officials and more. He checked all the facilities of every hotel himself, making sure everything would be perfect.
He helped organize and attended every meeting of every committee we had and made sure the meetings had proper protocol and minutes. He loved his work, always saying he had the best job in the world.
And when the work was done, he had his scotch.
Dan was a force of nature, an icon and so much more than that. Eighteen years ago, the Canadian Congress of Neurological Sciences (CCNS), as it was then called, ran a great conference with good scientific content and great social activities. Behind the scenes, though, it was in trouble. There was a serious lack of organization and funds. A solution had to be found. After a search performed by the congress leadership, Dan was hired as CEO. With hard work, persistence, passion and vision, Dan was instrumental in the reorganization and success of today’s CNSF.
In 2012, when Garth Bray, then president of the CNSF (CCNS in those days), asked me to be part of the executive, I had never been involved in any of the organization’s inner workings. Although I had proposed and organized courses and attended meetings since 1987, I had no idea how things worked. Garth introduced me to Dan and said that Dan would take care of orienting and educating me. Dan and I worked closely for the next 12 or so years, and I witnessed his passion, his dedication, his organization and his attention to detail. Dan could navigate all types of situations with strength, honesty and a smile. He counselled and supported me through my years as vice president, president and board member. He became a dear friend.
Dan is much more than a CEO. He is a loving father, grandfather, husband and friend. He was my friend, and I will cherish that friendship forever. My favourite moment of every CNSF meeting was our pre-conference dinner together. It was hard to attend the last CNSF meeting knowing that Dan would not be there, that we would not have dinner and that he would not tell me about all the day’s adventures over a scotch.
Dan left an indelible mark on the CNSF and was the soul of the organization. We will really miss him.
