Lionel was more than an Emcee

He came here a stranger but quickly became a friend to just about everyone in the Rainy River area.
I am writing about Lionel Robert.
RRWT organizers took the lead from the Fort Frances Bass Tournament organizers who recommended Lionel.
We had no idea what a great lead that was until he took the stage on day 1 of the RRWT in 1999.
His charisma and charm quickly grew on the anglers and the audience. He took what could have been mundane weighins and transformed them into an event.
He talked to the anglers and was very quick to read them. That skill gave him the upper hand in the conversation. He gave some anglers new names like Allan Walleyenicki and Kenny “three sheets to the wind” Vogan. He also teased Gerry Jolicouer, referring to that Viagra using Joli-G angler. He loved the name Nibs Kreger and had to get the story behind that name out in public and he did.
Lionel laughed at them, with them and with us all as he teased the teams. He also took the return ribbing in stride as he was handed a lifetime membership in the Viagra Club from Gerry Jolicouer.
Lionel was not only an entertainer but was a very knowledgeable person when it came to the fish.
While waiting for the weigh-ins he would often spend time educating the kids that were hanging around the stage and the rejuvenator tanks on how to treat a fish after it is caught and the best way to release it.
He also took time to talk to each and every person he met, showing an interest in them all and remembered that from year to year. In fact it was as if he never left each year when he returned.
I spent many hours with him talking about the tournament, his circuit of them and how he considered Rainy River to be one of his favourites. Often he would pick my brain both on and off the stage for pronunciations of anglers names and for tidbits of info. on them he could use to poke some fun at them.
Lionel was like a member of our family and I am sure could have moved into town and fit right in instantly.
He felt so comfortable here that he even brought his daughter here and eventually his wife; sharing a major wedding anniversary with us all one year.
Lionel’s passing shocked us all, but he will be with us all this weekend in spirit and would want us to carry on the best we can.
Lionel was more than an emcee, he was our friend, an entertainer and a teacher.
I hope he is fishing up a storm at the great walleye pond in the sky.
We miss you Lionel.
–Until then,
Ken