SLOC's Fraser Bullock makes list of big guns

It has been almost two years since Utah hosted the 2002 Winter Games, but a Salt Lake Organizing Committee official has been named one of the most influential people in the Olympic world for 2004.

Fraser Bullock, who served as the chief operating officer for the Games, ranked No. 20 on this year's list of the 25 most influential personalities compiled by Ed Hula, editor of the electronically published Olympic newsletter, Around the Rings.

Bullock said Friday that he was surprised to see his name among members of the International Olympic Committee and other prominent names in sports, such as NBC's Olympic boss Dick Ebersol.

"It is a testament to the success of our Games and to our great team of people that other organizing committees and the IOC want to make sure we can pass along as much of our expertise as possible to others," Bullock said. "As the last man standing, I'm happy to do that."

It's the first appearance on the "Golden 25" list for Bullock, who since the Salt Lake Games ended has overseen the dissolution of SLOC and the construction of the Olympic legacy park at the University of Utah.

He also is chairman of the Utah Athletic Foundation, the private group that owns and operates the state's Olympic facilities now, including the bobsled track and ski jumps near Park City and the speedskating oval in Kearns.

Bullock made the Around the Rings list, though, for his efforts on behalf of both the U.S. Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee. Now the head of an investment company based in Sandy, he's volunteering for both Olympic organizations.

"He seems to be in demand as far as what he knows about the Winter Games," Hula said Friday from the newsletter's Atlanta headquarters. "Especially since the Salt Lake Games turned out to be so financially successful."

Bullock, a native of Canada, serves on the IOC's coordination commission for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver along with leaders from the snow and ice sports. He has also worked on the restructuring of the USOC.

He's not the first Utahn to win a place on the list that's been compiled annually since 1997. Topping this year's list are the people of Greece, who will host the world this summer at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens, dominated by members of the IOC.

Mitt Romney, the Boston businessman recruited to take over SLOC shortly after the Salt Lake Olympic bid scandal surfaced in late 1998, ranked seventh in 2000 and 2001 and hit No. 2 in 2002. Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts in November 2002.

Other Utahns noted on the list during the years leading up to the Games included Salt Lake Olympic bid leaders Tom Welch and Dave Johnson, who were then facing federal charges in connection with the bribery scandal. Welch and Johnson were acquitted of all charges last month.

Hula said Bullock is an unusual choice because his influence comes after the Salt Lake Games, rather than before. Also, Bullock had no Olympic experience when he was hired by Romney to help turn around the troubled organizing committee.

Bullock said he never thought he'd be a player in the Olympic world. "It never crossed my mind," he said. "I joined SLOC to do a job, do it well and then move on."

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