Rob Freeman mentoring website dedication

My 2 sons, Mark & Zan Freeman, who have enriched & continue to enrich my life in ways that they will never know & who gave me the very reason to dream. Zan is currently a tool & die apprentice working for a large Stratford, ON automotive parts firm & has his own shop & business, Freeman Machine & Tool. Mark is taking post secondary education this fall, to study film production. This past summer, he filmed the Brokeback Truck Tour...view his finished video.

My former wife, Carla Freeman (Knight), who gave us both, 2 wonderful sons & who supported & helped me through the early years of London Telecom.

My mom, Ethel Freeman, who when I was a young boy, when I came to her with a toy phone that wouldn't work, handed me a screwdriver & said, "here, see if you can fix it yourself".

My dad, Doug Freeman, who when I was young, bought me antique phones & an old switchboard, which I used to hook up friends on my street with our own private phone system. One Saturday, he introduced me to his good friend Graydon Baines, who was manager of the Bell Canada office in Sarnia, Ontario. Graydon arranged to have one of his employees show & teach me that Saturday afternoon, how the entire Bell local & long distance phone system worked, from a technical point of view.

My step-mom, Ilona Freeman, who always was there to support me with her kindness & encouragement

My younger step-brother, Scott Freeman, who I always had fun with, brainstorming new ideas.

My good senior friend & mentor Betty Mallette, who when I was getting started in my 20's as a real estate salesman & was about to be fired for not selling anything in my first 6 months, went to the manager (I found out years later) & said "don't you dare fire him....he will be your best salesperson in this office". One year later her words came true... I was named the top salesperson of the year, in the office of 25.

My good senior friend & mentor Shirley Shore, who I went to first, when I had the original idea to start London Telecom. Shirley asked a lot of questions & continually challenged me to use my own creativity.

My good friend John Smith, who has listened to me all these years....all my crazy ideas.... John has always been there for me, even through my darkest hours, when I came close to death, fighting for my life when I traveled the world trying to find a way to cure myself from cancer. (it bears mentioning here, that I'm now a 5+ year survivor, totally fit & celebrating 100% health - stronger in all ways from the experience!)

My good friend Sarah Watkin, who helped & helps me with my sons & who traveled the world with me through the darkness & the light, making me laugh & sharing my tears as I struggled desperately to find a way to save my life, so I could come back & be here for my sons.

My friend Chris Chivers, who patiently taught me how to build websites.....posting text, picture, video, & pages with links, to the internet.

My long time friends, Phil Anrep, Rick Bain, Ian Newman, Barb Maranduik, Wayne Metler, Diane & Mike Czura, who have all, always been there for me through the good times & not so good times....truly lifetime friends.

My 2 right hand guys at London Telecom, Jim Weisz & Colin Wood....there was a special chemistry that played between the 3 of us that unleashed a rare creativity in each one of us that was magic....the result was that Jim & Colin made my dream of a Canada-wide flat rate long distance network come true. I continue to work with Jim to this day & he never ceases to amaze me with his common sense approach to things that I like to make complicated.

My associate Mike Leschuk, who always suggests alternative ideas & financial responsibility.

Cathy Thomson, now Director of The Rob Freeman Foundation who by just hearing me speak about how Canada was so close to splitting up at the time of the referendum & how young people would be the answer to uniting the country, put the entire Inukshuk Student Exchange Program together when she was with London Telecom.

My associate Ruth MacAulay, who has been with me for many years, listening to me, giving me pearls of wisdom & doing her best to keep me organized.

Doug McKenzie, owner of an office supply store in Kitchener, ON, who when I was studying at the University of Waterloo, told me in less than 30 minutes, how to become an entrepreneur....7 days later, I had earned over $5,000....in 1973.

The great UPS driver, who when I was researching telecommunication regulations in Canada, dropped off the documents to me that I had requested from the CRTC....but to my total unbelief & astonishment, what I had actually received from the Commission, in error, was an executive Bell Canada financial summary.....detailing it's total customer spending in all of it's long-distance markets in Canada.....answering the question of exactly where I should begin building London Telecom's business first, when open competition became allowed in 1990.

Wade Hemsworth, of the Hamilton Spectator, who when he heard my story about starting London Telecom, asked me "would you mind if I run a story in the paper?" .....as they say, "the rest is history".

All the employees of London Telecom, who I enjoyed working with so much, & who will always hold a special place in my heart.....we were truly like family.

Dr Hal Gunn, at "InspireHealth", formerly "The Centre for Integrated Healing" in Vancouver, BC, Canada, whose kind words & dedicated care kept me going, on my path back to health.

Dr Simon Sutcliffe, my oncologist & head of the BCCA in Vancouver, BC, Canada, who said "Go ahead & travel the world taking experimental & cutting edge therapies for the cancer, if that's your wish, but when I say It's time to take the formal treatment of chemo & radiation, will you promise to come back to Vancouver & start that treatment." To which I responded "yes I will".

To the memory of former LT employees Greg Cope & Steve Kunz, and long time friend, Karen Rosenthal.

And to a very special friend who gave me the inspiration to start the mentoring program & build this website.