Catherine Gagnon <<catgag18>>
writes:

We have just recently lost our beloved HPAC president, Domagoj
Juretic, and I thought it would be important to mention it in the Oz Report. It
is a huge loss for Canadian free flyers as Domagoj was a generous man of vision,
of heart, laughter, making sure everyone was included and uniting us in our
differences. He will be missed dearly by all of us and we will continue our work
at AQVL (Quebec free flight association) in his honor.

Here are the eloquent words of Bruce Brusby, HPAC vice president, speaking about
Domagoj

Dear Members and friends of the HPAC,

It is with profound sadness that I write to you today.

As some of you already know, our great friend, leader, statesman and HPAC
president, Domagoj Juretic, has passed away today. On December 28, 2015 Dom
suffered a massive heart attack. As a complication of that incident, Dom
suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen. He was in great care but he died
peacefully while surrounded by family today, Jan 9, 2016.

Dom was my dear friend for more than a decade. He was one of the finest men I’ve
ever known and truly loved by everyone that had the opportunity to get to know
him. The sports of Hang gliding and Paragliding in Canada are better for us all
as a direct result of his leadership and tireless work and dedication. I am a
better man for knowing him.

As I write this to you all. Memories of who Dom was and what he represented
flood back to me. His mischievous smile when he had an insight or a funny story.
His enthusiasm for a great flying story or a funny experience. His calm and
wonderful continence when dealing with friends and speaking about his beloved
family and friends. Dom and I would only see each other a couple times per year
but it never felt that long. We would pick up where we left off in an instant
and just be ourselves effortlessly. Today I’m reminded of the things he brought
all of us with such grace and style.

Dom served more than 10 years of dedicated service to the AQVL and the HPAC BoD
and more than 7 years as president of the HPAC.

Dom’s legacy will continue and his lessons of fairness, balance and optimism has
permeated the HPAC BoD past and present.

Dom was at the helm in rough waters and happy times of the HPAC. He masterfully
and gently guided us through some of our most trying periods. He was there to
help us triumph our joys like flying from Jasper National Park as one of the
V.I.P.’s first to launch on our first day following 9 years of negotiations with
Parks Canada.

Dom’s insistence, beginning in 2013 that the pilots of the Yukon (a strong and
quickly growing group of wonderful pilots) get a seat at the directors table on
the HPAC BoD. Welcoming our first Yukon director at our 2014 ADM. Dom’s joy and
elation to open the 2015 annual directors meeting in Whitehorse, Yukon.

Dom’s direction and leadership at the first ever 2012 Counsel of Senior
Instructors meeting that brought to fruition the rating system review, overhaul
and implementation. Then again hosting in November 2015 at the second meeting of
the CSI and the results that will follow that meeting.

There are 50 more examples of a legacy of a great man that was taken from us all
too soon.

We pilots are a special breed. We’re adventurous and daring, pioneering in our
search for adventure and free flight. We share a special bond with our fellow
pilots and feel a closeness and comradity that is unique in the world. We see
the world from a perspective that very few dare to or are able to. It’s this
intangible bond that draws us all a little closer. It’s also this bond that
shakes us when we say goodbye to one of our own.

It’s my wish to you all that you feel the peace Dom embodied so eloquently and
effortlessly. I wish you joy in his memory and solace in your life and
adventures. I wish you all the things I saw and felt in my friend. Live and
rejoice in the spirit that Dom represented and smile with me as we remember him.
All my best to you,

Bruce Busby, HPAC Vice President