Eugene George

Eugene George was born in Kitchener in 1930.

In 1963 the New York Rangers approached George about moving its junior farm team from Guelph to Kitchener. George spearheaded a community campaign that successfully brought the Kitchener Rangers to the community. In 1967, the National Hockey League ended its sponsorship of junior teams, and the Kitchener Rangers team was offered for sale to George for one dollar. George bought but transferred ownership of the team to a not-for-profit corporation, which still owns the Rangers hockey club today. George is considered the founder of the Kitchener Rangers organization, considered by many as the strongest junior hockey franchise in Canada.

In his professional career, George was the CEO of G&A Masonry, and he operated a building supply company and a manufacturer of rough-terrain forklifts. He served as founding president of both the Canadian and Ontario masonry contractor’s associations and he was the first Canadian to be president of the Masonry Contractor Association of America and the International Masonry Institute in Washington, DC.

George’s company was international in scope, having been involved in the construction of buildings across North America, including projects at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and the award-winning National Museum of the American Indian in Washington. In 2008, he was inducted into the Grand Valley Construction Association’s Hall of Fame.

George and his wife Patti had eight sons.