A Tribute to Jimmy Ackers (continued)

From: Ackers, Terri
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 3:34 PM
To: Ken Rathgeber (Scotia Capital)
Subject: An add on to Mike's tribute to my dad and the Floor Trader's Association

Hi Kenny, I of course have a contribution to this tribute. I remember those kids Christmas parties like they were yesterday. Once I was too old to collect a gift, I started helping my dad and the others (Kenny Apple, Paul ‘the wop’, Scotty Zu…..). Even as a kid, I remember my dad putting together the Toronto Floor Trader’s Association stationary…he used to have my mom type up the party notices way back in the day before computers. The parties were exceptional. No child left without a toy and the entertainment was always great. And Santa, let us not forget Budd Moore and Arnie Coones….the 2 Santas I remember most. I seem to recall that the time stampers were always the hit of the day with the kids though. To those ‘next’ generation TSEers like my brother Mike and myself……remember hanging around in the Cork room after the parties? I know Brad and Jeff Tonkin, and their sister Shannon must remember (Bruce Tonkin’s ‘kids’)…..our parents hung out after the parties. And God love Nat in his upstairs room in the Cork room, he always had a toy or something cool to offer when we visited.

As for the Annual Trader’s party in the Harbor Castle, I have some great pictures of some of the finest dancers ever (NOT)…..like Bobby Pete, Jack Harvey, my mom. It was always so fun to see everyone in their best formal wear, best behavior was never an option with this crowd, but looking good was.

One very popular event Mike didn’t mention was the race track nights. They started out “for the boys only”. My dad had a bus driver friend with Grey Coach (Smitty) and used to organize the bus ride to the track for all the guys. I was young when I woke up to a houseful of dad’s trading floor friends and a Grey Coach bus parked in front of our house…on more than one occasion! Then, the spouses/girlfriends were included and the event became even bigger. If I remember rightly, there was a Spring night for the men only and then a Fall night for the couples. Those were the races where the guys were placing $2 bets at the table in front of their wives, then excusing themselves to the bathroom so they could run and place their “real bets”. Again, the Traders Association knew how to plan a party!

There were also the Golf Tournaments. I can’t comment much on them as I never attended, but I do remember that they too were a big hit. As someone recently said to me…..thank God for Jimmy Ackers and the Trading Floor Association….if it weren’t for them, we would have just gone out drinking all night all the time!