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“It was never about him looking for glory or the spotlight,” Johnson said. “He just wanted to do a great job, make friends and have fun. That was something we all learned from him. Sometimes you let things get the better of you. Ken was always very grounded.”

Picot continued to oversee officials at the CFL level, at which he had been a supervisor of officials since retiring from his on-field duties in 2004. He continued to officiate at the amateur level following his on-field career with the CFL.

Quite often, Picot would officiate or supervise a CFL game and an amateur football contest on the same weekend. Many officials followed his lead.

“He was a guy who set the example of how you give back,’’ Buchko said. “He never said that we had to do it. When you love the sport as much as we do, you want to make that contribution. You just do it for the love of the game and giving back.’’

Picot, who was the host of “The Rules of the Game’’ on Access Communications’ In the Huddle program for many years, started officiating as an amateur in Regina in 1972.

On the field, he primarily served as an umpire, calling holding and illegal-procedure penalties while dodging large men. He was the CFL’s umpire coach after retiring from his on-field position.

The dangers of the umpire position became evident on Sept. 8, 2002, when Picot suffered a broken left leg and a spiral fracture to his left ankle after running into a player during a game in Winnipeg. Picot returned for the 2003 and 2004 CFL seasons before retiring from his on-field position.