This week our season ended on Thursday November 3, but it was as positive as I can hope for. Tuesday night I hosted my first parent information night at Philip Pocock Secondary School. We were starting our parental education of cyber bullying. Constable Scott Mills, the Social Media officer of the Toronto Police and Crime Stoppers was a great addition to our parent session and I am sure the parents were intrigued with his point of view on cyber bullying. My evening ended quite interesting when a Runnymede alumnus introduced himself to me. When I heard his name I was excited because he was one of the last Runnymede football players that left a great mark for that team the year before I attended the school. He was disappointed to hear about the stuff that happened to me, and said had he been there, he would not have allowed that to take place.
On Wednesday afternoon I was a keynote speaker at the Gay Straight Alliance conference for 31 high schools in York region. When I was introduced, the MC asked the audience who was interested in organized sports and the response was not so overwhelming. However, after I talked about my experiences with bullying and where I am now and what I do, for the first time in a long time I received a standing ovation. I was very proud to have made a difference. Then later that evening our community team, made up of myself, Erin, Brian and our community intern, Blane, received more accolades at the 15th Annual Unforgettable Dinner for the Canadian Safe Schools Network. It was satisfying to know that not only is our program one of the most well known with bullying programs, but it was also supported by many who attended the dinner.
Game day would provide a very emotional moment for me and anyone that is close to the Argonauts. Earlier that week, I received an e-mail from one of our Level the Playing Field Schools telling me one of their players suffered an injury on the field that would end his sports career. Before the injury, Andre Durie had visited one of their practices to help motivate these players. He told the story of when he was injured at York and doctors told him he would never walk again let alone play football. The student's coach asked if there was a way that this young boy could get a signed ball from Andre. As I forwarded the e-mail to upper management and the GM and our head coach, Jim Barker, the response was overwhelming. After the game had ended Friday night which we won quite handily, Andre Durie was the star of the game and I knew that this ball would mean so much more. I walked the young man and his coach to the locker room to wait as the team made their way back in for the sacred team time after a game where only the team usually is part of. However, Coach Barker not only invited this young man and his coach in, but started his last post game speech by introducing the young man and dedicating the first game ball to him. The young man received a team signed game ball and more importantly words of encouragement from a number of players in that room. What an amazing experience for everyone involved. Since that day I received a number of e-mails from the school thanking us for that moment and to my team the Toronto Argonauts it was something that they were thankful to have been a part of.
Yesterday, I was part of the "Underachievers" Movember golf tournament. In assisting one of my coworkers in the organization of this tournament it is rewarding to see the number of people that don't hesitate to help out.
Finally today, Ricky Foley and I will be 2 of 7,000 people in all of Canada that will be participating in the 25th Anniversary of the Rick Hansen Relay for making a difference in our community. A proud moment knowing the significance of what Rick Hansen did 25 years ago.
Hope you all read my next blog of what that relay was like.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment