Jack Elder (born August 9, 1941) is an Olympian with some very big ideas. 1984 was not the first time he asked the questions “what if” or “why not”. He brought along those questions along with some big ideas when he joined Winter Olympics Oregon (or WOO) with the purpose of bidding to host the Winter Olympic Games. Jack Elder can be a very persistent man.
His first success in sport was when he earned his judo blackbelt at age 17. During a stint in the Army, he picked up the sport of luge and ended up an Olympic slider at the 1972 Games in Portland’s sister city Sapporo, Japan. After the Games it was a decade-long career in radio broadcasting.
Jack has always believed that athletes, especially Olympians, should give back to their sport, to their country and to their community. In 1989, he launched Oregon Sports Action to raise awareness for under recognized sports and to expand interest in hosting athletic events in Oregon. While an Olympic bid never materialized for WOO, a conversation was started. Jack is good at starting conversations.
In a casual conversation at a 1988 Olympic committee meeting, Jack learned that an Olympic qualifying basketball tournament might have to be moved. In 1992 the Dream Team debuted at Tournament of the Americas in Portland.
Jack’s next conversation was about a sports commission to pursue events for Oregon. From that conversation came the Oregon Sports Authority.
Oregon Sports Action with Jack at its helm, is dedicated to continuing the development of all manners of sport in Oregon. Oregon Sports Action has quietly donated millions of dollars to sports organizations and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, the repository of Oregon Sports history.
Jack Elder continues to ask the question, “What can Olympians do to give back?” He gives back with his passion for celebrating the athlete in all of us.