Kevin Duckworth always had a strong passion for the outdoors, especially fishing. One of the many custom modifications he added to his truck was a fishing pole rack built into the underside of his truck-bed covering. That way, he always had a pole with him whenever he felt like stopping at a relaxing fishing hole during one of his frequent cross-state escapades.
On Thursday, January 23, the city of Portland recognized Duck – and his love for fishing - holding a hearing at City Hall to officially rename the Convention Center Dock on the Willamette River. The “L” shaped dock, now known as the Kevin J. Duckworth Memorial Dock, can be found adjacent to the floating portion of Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade, just a few hundred yards from the Rose Garden.
Before a hearing room full of family, friends, TV cameras, radio correspondents, Trail Blazers personnel and fans, the Portland City Council shared personal memories of Duckworth before passing their motion to name the dock in Duckworth’s honor.
“This will glorify his name in Portland’s history,” said Councilman Dan Saltzman, who initiated the motion for the memorial. “We recently learned of his love for the outdoors, and fishing in particular. So what better location, we thought, than in the heart of downtown Portland, in the shadow of the Rose Quarter.”
Friend and former teammate Jerome Kersey joined longtime voice of the Trail Blazers Bill Schonely, each providing a three-minute testimony on Duckworth’s behalf.
“I miss that young man to this very day,” Schonely testified. “Because he loved this city, he loved the kids, he loved everything he did. And we all miss him. I’m going to get down to that dock, and fish in his memory.”
Following the testimony, council members Nick Fish, Amanda Fritz and Randy Leonard took turns paying tribute to Duckworth, even joking with Schonely and Kersey about getting them “honorary” fishing licenses to fish at the dock.
