It was with mixed emotions and a heavy heart that Vanessa Oake Hogan spoke Monday (January 6) at the launch of the 39th annual Carl Oake Rotary Swim.
Just days after her father’s passing at age 79, before a large gathering at the offices of Baker Tilly KDN LLP in downtown Peterborough, Oake Hogan shared details of the February 28th fundraiser for Easter Seals and Rotary Club of Peterborough-supported projects that the family patriarch founded in 1987.
Among those in the room were her mom Tana and her sisters, Lesley and Renée.
When he founded the event, Oake swam 120 pool laps solo but, come the early 1990s, the swimathon was expanded to include teams. To date, more than $1.4 million has been raised, with last year’s total exceeding $40,000.
Oake participated each year until 2016 when hernia surgery sidelined him. He did, however, return to the pool in 2017 — the last year he swam in the event. Prior to that, he announced his three daughters would be taking over the reins of the event.
With the launch for the 2025 swim already scheduled prior to Oake’s passing, the family opted to push forward with it. Oake Hogan later told kawarthaNOW her father would have wanted them to do just that.
“The show must go on … Dad would have wanted us to do this,” she said.
“It gets us back into our routine and what a better way to do that than to honour something that Dad started years ago. A few days ago, I didn’t know if I could get through this morning, but we did it and I’m really glad we did.”
Oake Hogan says the family has been touched by many tributes to her dad, both public and private, that have been expressed since he passed.
“My dad was always a superstar in my mind, but I didn’t know how many other people thought so too. It does help, knowing how he touched so many lives. It’s really nice to feel the community helping us through this.”
Among those represented at the launch were partners and sponsors, including the Rotary Club of Peterborough, Baker Tilly KDN LLP, Easter Seals, the YMCA of Peterborough, Holiday Ford Lincoln, and Century 21 United, which Oake originally established in 1978 with partner Robert Howe before merging in 1999 with Century 21 Gray-Munro Realty Inc. to form Century 21 United Realty Inc. Brokerage.
In addition, a short video detailing the event’s evolution, put together by YourTV producer Marcus Ferguson, was screened.
For more information about the event, and to register, as a team or individual, visit carloakerotaryswim.com.
Meanwhile, an emotional Yvonne McColl put a face to the event’s enduring importance, noting how the proceeds helped her son Mitchell — the local Easter Seals Ambassador in 2011 and 2012 — and continues to make a difference in the lives of Easter Seal kids.
“It was hard to get up and speak because my heart is hurting,” said McColl, adding “He (Oake) was a very special man … very humble.”
“Legacy, I think, is an appropriate word. He’ll be greatly missed.”
McColl noted Mitchell participated in every swim event since (2020 excluded), despite his being adverse to cold water.
“My husband designed these great flotation devices to keep him out of the cold water but we still did our lane, and the rest of his team — his brothers, his sister, sometimes cousins and family friends — enjoyed being able to give back. Easter Seals gave so much to us.”
Representing the Rotary Club of Peterborough was president Ken Seim. He said for all the fundraisers that the service club has been and is involved with, the Carl Oake Rotary Swim is near and dear to his fellow Rotarians’ hearts.
“This is our single largest fundraiser of the year,” said Seim, noting Rotary’s share of the proceeds has supported the YES Shelter for Youth and Families, Habitat for Humanity, Camp Kawartha, the Prince of Wales Breakfast Program and the Rotary Greenway Trail, to name but a few beneficiaries.
“Carl is probably one of the most giving persons of his time. Being a businessman of a large company, he always made time for you. Whenever you ran into him, be it at an event or in passing, he was the first to put his hand out to shake your hand. It was just his nature to give back. He was larger than life, and when he talked, people listened.”
Born in Cape Breton, Oake moved to Peterborough with his family at age 15 and attended Adam Scott Collegiate. He began his career in real estate at age 21 when he obtained his licence.
Oake served as president of the Peterborough Real Estate Board and the Men’s Sales and Advertising Club, and as a director with the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA and the Peterborough Golf and Country Club. Having joined Rotary in 1983, he was subsequently named a Paul Harris Fellow — one of Rotary’s highest honours.
In 2002, the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce selected Oake as its Business Citizen of the Year. In 2014, he was inducted into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame and, in 2016, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award for voluntarism at the Peterborough Civic Awards. Two years later, he was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame. Oake has also been presented with the Easter Seals Helping Hand Award.
Oake’s celebration of life service will be held at noon on January 12 at Highland Park Funeral Centre in Peterborough, with a reception to follow. In his memory, his family requests that donations be made to the Carl Oake Rotary Swim at www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/2025-carl-oake-rotary-swim/ or by dropping cheques off to Century 21 United Realty at 387 George Street South. Donations to Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Hospice Peterborough would also be appreciated.
