APRIL 2019 BCBUSINESS 55 MARLEY HUTCHINSON
D
espite his name, these
days Ronald McDon-
ald House
CEO Richard
Pass keeps his basketball
pretty much to himself. That's
because he no longer plays
on a team as he once did—as
a guard in high school and
university in his hometown
of Brandon, Manitoba, and
in a senior league there and
in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan,
before moving to B.C. in 1990.
"When I'm retired, I have
always thought I would play
again at some kind of senior
games level," he says.
For now, Pass shoots
baskets, which helps him
think, unlike his other hobby,
playing guitar. "In guitar,
I'm focused on music. With
basketball, I can be lost in my
thoughts and still have a feel
of the rhythm of the shot," he
explains. "Whether I'm pro-
cessing a strategic planning
session for the board of direc-
tors or strate‹y for a capital
campaign, as I'm shooting it
seems to free me up and give
me an opportunity to have a
bodaciously big thought and
then kind of process it."
He shoots on public outdoor
courts on weekends and at
Ronald McDonald House
during the week. The new resi-
dence, opened in 2014, has a
Court Challenge
Shooting hoops helps Richard Pass work out
business problems
by Felicity Stone
W E E K E N D WA R R IOR
(
quality time
)
WARRIOR
SPOTLIGHT
CEO of Ronald McDonald
House B.C. & Yukon since
2006, Richard Pass led a
capital campaign that raised
more than $32 million for a
new residence. It accommo-
dates almost 2,000 families a
year who stay in Vancouver
while their children receive
treatment for life-threat-
ening illnesses. Pass also
opened a 2,000-square-foot
Ronald McDonald Family
Room in Surrey Memorial
Hospital for families of chil-
dren treated there. The char-
ity's main fundraising season
runs summer through Christ-
mas, but this spring a new
Home for Dinner program
enables individuals or small
groups to contribute funds.
"It's not about raising hun-
dreds of thousands of dol-
lars, although that would be
nice," Pass says. "It's about
whatever could be raised in
that group."
O FF
T H E
C LO C K
OFFICE BREAK
At Ronald McDonald House,
Pass doesn't have far to
go to get in some shots
