Canadian Yachting April 2023 - 43

IN MEMORY OF JEAN-ROBERT LAVERGNE, AP
(1946-2022)
- by Serge St-Martin, JN
Born in Shawinigan Falls, Jean-Robert was always attracted
to water, electricity and electronics.
With his technician's diploma in hand, he started his own
business. In 1979, he joined Hydro-Québec International and
helped power utilities in Guinea and Bangladesh. In 2000, he
moved to Saguenay, Quebec. When he retired in 2004, he
was Chief of Automation at the La Grande Power Station.
In 1994, he passed the Boating Course exam and became a
member of CPS-ECP's Trois-Rivières Power and Sail Squadron.
He successfully completed eight CPS-ECP courses, and
has taught Boating, Piloting, GPS, Radar For Boaters and
Boating Electricals. Jean-Robert was the only Quebecer to
be a member of the American Boat & Yacht Council.
For the Saguenay - Lac-Saint-Jean Squadron, Jean-Robert
was Commander, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer and
Training Officer. In the last position, he was responsible
for the supervision of all instructors and courses that were
given. In addition, he was present at almost every training
session that the squadron offered. Jean-Robert also taught
several advanced courses, in addition to offering a multitude
of boating safety information sessions each year to other
organizations such as the local fire department, the Sûreté
du Québec and Parks Canada.
Jean-Robert was also very active with other local organizations
that had projects related to boating safety. In collaboration
with the Association Maritime du Québec, he played
an active role in the establishment of boating stations in
Roberval and the city of Saguenay. Each year, he conducted
Pleasure Craft Courtesy Checks at boating events and
exhibitions, and he constantly encouraged the efforts of his
Squadron to promote boating safety.
Most recently, Jean-Robert served as the District Commander
for the Estuaire Saint-Laurent District. He worked tirelessly
to support the squadron officers in this district. One of his
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major accomplishments was his success getting all the squadrons
in the district to act cooperatively, a task that required
a lot of hard work and determination. Because of his drive
and outstanding leadership, the district has survived.
As director of the Electronics Course, Jean-Robert was also
responsible for ensuring that this course was offered in
French. He also served on the National Training Department's
Editorial Review Committee of French Courses,
spending countless hours translating various course manuals
and boating safety texts.
With not enough on his plate yet, Jean-Robert agreed to
become the chair of the organizing committee for the CPSECP
Annual Conference and General Meeting in Quebec
City in October 2014. Working with the local committee, he
put in hundreds of hours to ensure that the 250 convention
delegates benefited from the sessions they attended.
At the 2018 and 2019 AGMs, Jean-Robert was elected National
Educational Officer and a member of the CPS-ECP
Board of Directors. He served in that capacity prior to resigning
due to health reasons. He was one merit mark short
of a life membership.
Jean-Robert, also affectionately known as J-R, will be greatly
missed by all his boating friends, especially by those boaters
in the Saguenay region, as he was known for planning the
installation and repairing the electrical appliances and electronics
on board. In spite of his illness, Jean-Robert answered
all requests. He really went to the end of his strength.
We offer our deepest condolences to his partner Gisèle
Touzin, and his children Carolyn and Philip. ■
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Canadian Yachting April 2023

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