03/08/2026
Yesterday, Canal NY Marketing & Business Alliance longtime board member, Bob Stopper was presented the Canal Society of New York State’s “Spirit of the Canal Award” by CNY Board Chair/Canal Society of NYS President, Tammee Poinan Grimes.
Award Speech:
“One of the best things about the NY State Canals is the people and community that have been created for two centuries. Many of us “canallers” know each other. A BIG community has been created, which isn’t simple for a waterway system that is over 500 miles long and covers most of New York State. Some of the towns and villages aren’t very large, but within one of those small towns is a man who will welcome you, show you around, tell you about the history, help you find the amenities that you need, share some stories and photos with you, and he’ll likely take your picture and a picture of your boat if you have one too. This man has incredible enthusiasm for the entire canal system and his community. He has volunteered countless hours of his time, he continues to be involved in canal related organizations, to be present at many canal related events, and goes above and beyond the average person. This has been true for decades.
With permission, I’m sharing some recent words from John C. Callaghan. Our Canal System is really not comprised of concrete and steel and earthen embankments, but rather of people. Over the generations a few Canallers really stand out for having left this canal system, that we all love, much better off than they found it. In Joel Swerdlow's terrific, 1990 piece on the Erie Canal in National Geographic he writes that "every canal town has self-educated experts" who have "opened their hearts to the Canal." Bob Stopper has not only opened his heart to the Canal, but to Canallers from every corner of the world. Tom Beardsley talks about the Erie Canal being the sidewalk which makes upstate New York a neighborhood, and its friendly neighbors like Bob that the image conjures up, at least for many of us. To the extent we are all invested in making visitors to the Canal System feel welcome, we can all learn a lot from Bob Stopper, who does it so well, and for so many years, and to such great impact. Bob Stopper has left a legacy for all of us to learn from, and he has made people visiting the Erie Canal from all over the globe feel like long-time neighbors. Every conversation with Bob is a master class on how to make people feel welcome. The entire New York State Canal community owes him a debt of gratitude. If the Canal truly has a spirit perhaps it could be described as “hello friend, how can I help you?" and in that case Bob Stopper is the very embodiment of that spirit, and richly deserving of this recognition.
I’m honored to present this 2026 Canal Society of New York State “Spirit of the Canal Award” to my well deserving friend, Bob Stopper.”
