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It is with great sadness that we learned today that Greg Poleski has lost his long time fight with cancer. Many of you may not be aware of Greg’s major accomplishments in river conservation, as a co-founder and board member of the Greenway Network, board member of the Mississippi Water Trail Association, director of the Missouri Paddling Coalition, and a long term member of the Sierra Club and of MWA. I had the honor of working with Greg when he volunteered to coordinate the Flatwater Sprint Canoe & Kayak competition for the 1994 St. Louis Olympic Festival, while most of the rest of us paddlers were focused on the Whitewater competition. Greg followed that up with a stint as a volunteer for the Flatwater Sprint event at the ’96 Olympics, at Lake Lanier, near Atlanta.
Greg was a terrific guy, always mellow, but brilliant and focused. He had such an amazing depth of knowledge about river conservation, legislation and politics, music, and a zillion other topics. Conversations with him could be exhausting – how does someone know so much? And so representative was a cartoon he re-posted on his Facebook page, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind”.
I feel lucky that I was able to spend time (but not enough time) with Greg & Jaime the last few years, at music events and doing fun stuff. It’s been way too long since we paddled together, but I’ll think about him every time I get on the river. Along with too many other lost friends.
His daughter Shannon posted a message on Facebook today, which included in part the following challenge:
“It would be a great honor to my dad and all of us who love him, to do something kind for our world this week/month/year. Make the world a little more wonderful by doing something positive.
*Go outside and pick up trash
*take a walk on one of our local trails and make sure the path is clear for those who use it after you
*go to the river and admire nature around you
*instead of throwing something away you normally would…recycle it or use it for something you normally wouldn’t
*plant a tree when it warms up
*travel somewhere and truly experience the culture (New Orleans was one of his favorites).
*take your family camping (your kids will remember this more than most vacations you take them on)
*Vote for politicians that support preserving the environment
*check out Greenway Network (environmental organization Greg started when Shannon was a kid) and donate your time or make a contribution. https://www.greenwaynetwork.org/
*anything else that you can think of to make the earth a little brighter.I can’t think of a better tribute. Please keep Greg in your memories, and Jaime and all the Poleski-Tarsi clan in your hearts.
A memorial service is being planned, and details will be provided when they are available.
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RIP Greg.
Had the honor of paddling with Greg for 5 days on PaddleMO – put on by GreenwayNetworks in 2018. He received an award for stream team advocacy on day 2 of the paddle. Not a great photo, sorry.
But I wanted to say a few kind words; He was always welcoming, caring, and helpful to all paddlers. He truly loved the Missouri river, and all water for that matter.
And lastly, correct me if I am wrong. But I believe Greg had a HUGE part in making of Cora Island off the Missouri River. He helped create a habitat for wildlife that will last a forever.
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Excellent article today about Greg by Tony Messenger of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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