Paying tribute to the very best
Aug 21 2009 By Brian Aitken, Editor, The Journal
WHEN we published the first edition of our Most Influential People in the North East supplement last year, we spent some time musing over what it really meant to be influential.
The first few pages of the publication were spent analysing the contributions of just some of those who had played an
influential role in shaping the North East over the years, from the Venerable Bede to Lord Armstrong, and from Emily Davison to Earl Grey.
There were some pretty impressive names among them.
If there is one common theme one can draw from these great influential characters of the past, it is surely that their influence remains felt – in some shape or other – today. They are people who have a remarkable legacy.
All of the people featured in Alastair Gilmour’s feature about the North East’s great influencers are no longer with us.
This year, we have changed the look and format of the publication, as explained in some detail on page four of the supplement.
However, if we were to repeat Alastair’s piece of a year ago, there would be one notable name to add to the list of great
influencers who have now passed away. Sir Bobby Robson, who died peacefully on July 31, would have featured prominently in the sports section of this supplement (although he could so easily have been included in several others too) and, indeed, such was the timing of his departure, his profile had already been penned.
He would, without question, have been the most influential sporting name that was featured and, in truth, it’s hard to think of anyone else profiled in the next 130 or so pages who could outdo him in terms of influence.
He was a remarkable man who, in many ways, defined what it means to be influential. An exceptional leader of football players, a man who managed his country with some success and a huge amount of dignity, and then someone who dedicated his final years to helping others affected by the cruel disease that he battled so bravely for so long.
If an influential person can be measured in terms of his or her legacy, then there are few people who could eclipse Sir Bobby, especially here in his native North East. Thousands of people who are affected by cancer will owe a debt of gratitude to Sir Bobby for decades to come.
Of all the influential people in the North East, he was surely the one that summed up best what this word really means. And his remarkable life reminds us of why it is so important that we celebrate the role that influential people play in making this region what it is.
