place behind Nixon and Norman Cafik. When Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed his friend and political colleague Barney Danson as Canada's Minister of Defence in 1976, Deacon worked with Danson and Jacques Hébert to create Katimavik, a national service program designed to enable unemployed youth to help others and themselves at the same time. Later life Deacon moved to Prince Edward Island in 1981, where he was the founder and chair of Atlantic Canada's first venture capital fund, Atlantic Ventures Trust. He also continued his passion as an active volunteer, becoming president of the PEI Red Cross, chair of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, a board member of Mount Allison University (the alma mater of his maternal grandfather, The Hon. Henry Emmerson), a director of the SmartRisk Foundation and National Commissioner of Scouts Canada. Deacon was deeply honoured when his service to Scouts Canada was recognized with his being presented with the Silver Wolf Award by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Deacon's greatest passion grew from CN Railway's decision to close the Prince Edward Island Railway in July 1989. Florence and Donald loved going on walking and cycling vacations around the world, and had long felt that the closure would hold great tourism and community development potential. A standing-room only community meeting on August 3, 1989 led to the creation of Rail-to-Trails PEI with its mission being to do what was necessary to convert the soon to be abandoned rail lines into a provincial trail system. Deacon became the group's founding chairman. On September 18, 1992, at a Canada 125 board meeting held in Summerside PEI, a resolution was passed to support the creation of the Trans Canada Trail as the legacy project for Canada's 125th anniversary. Deacon became an early and active member of the Trans Canada Trail board of directors, focusing much of his attention on the all-important fundraising efforts. To this end, Deacon's signature can be found on the certificates issued to Canadians who donated $35.00 to "buy a metre" of the Trail, one of the Trail's earliest fundraising efforts. Through the 1990s, corporations and wealthy families across the country could count on a visit from Deacon and others, encouraging them to "buy a kilometre" of the Trail. In 2000, then in their 80s, Florence and Donald proudly completed their Millennium Project: to bike 200 km on the Trail in each of Canada's