As I looked to a relatively
quiet weekend on the local sports front and pondered content
for the Thanksgiving Monday column, I couldn’t help
but to be struck by the very essence of this particular
holiday – and specifically how it dovetails into
the sentiment that is at the very core of the work that
I do, pretty much seven days a week.
How can one not give thanks when each
and every day gives rise to a wonderful landscape of incredible
stories to be told, all within an environment that remains
every bit as much of a passion for this writer as it was
more than twenty years ago when I first made the plunge
from a career in banking to Sudbury Sports?
I give thanks pretty much daily for the
entire spectrum of athletic involvement in this great
city, the athletes, coaches, administrators and parents
who allow me to meander happily from one event to the
next, blessed with a child-like sense of excitement that
is a function of the next interesting tale to be told.
For as much as a thousand word column
does not come anywhere close to providing the space needed
to individually thank all those who have contributed (and
continue to do so) to engulfing myself in a setting where
I pretty much never have to “work” another
day in my life, I would be remiss in not sharing some
random thoughts on those who remain particularly impactful.
And just to clarify: it’s not work
when you love what you’re doing.
I give thanks for the entirety of the
Sudbury high-school sports scene, with its incredibly
expansive array of fascinating teenage athletes, some
of whom might reach a degree of excellence, most whom
will not, but all of whom seem so genuinely pleased to
share their thoughts in what might well be the only post-game
interview they will ever experience.
I give thanks for close friends and fellow
sports nuts Dave Makela and Blaine Smith, both of whom
were instrumental in the initial decision to leave the
security of the financial industry to pursue an adventure
rife with countless unknowns. While early challenges were
unavoidable, it’s been far more than a decade in
which I can look back with absolutely no regrets.
I give thanks for an incredible track
& field and running community, for the pleasure of
working alongside folks such as Darren Jermyn and Dick
Moss, Vince Perdue and Robert Esmie, Colin Ward and Neil
Phipps. Thankfully, the whole realm of athleticism is
hardly the only discipline in Sudbury that features such
genuinely nice and decent people.
I give countless thanks for my Sudbury
Wolves penalty box partners in crime Todd Guthrie and
Steve Mynerich, gentlemen who can make even the longest
of OHL seasons an enjoyable and memorable experience.
Truth be told, the entire array of game night regulars
at the Old Barn on Elgin Street render what is supposed
to be something of a job far more of a social outing.
I give thanks to Dario Zulich and the
entire SWSE team. For as much as we might not agree on
every single hockey-related move relating to our beloved
Wolves, there is simply no questioning the level of care
that this man and the folks who surround him share in
trying to make Sudbury an better place to live (and hopefully
provide countless moments to celebrate and remember).
Same holds true for all of my many friends
with the Greater Sudbury Cubs and the NOJHL, with countless
evenings at the Gerry McCrory Sports Complex filled with
endless meandering to and fro, sharing smiles and laughter
and all of those life updates that make living worthwhile.
I give most sincere thanks to all those
who have been involved in the journey that is SportLink
– Greater Sudbury Sport Council. It’s been
a 20+ year trek that introduced me to the gem of a human
being that is Lisa Kivinen, that allowed me to develop
an incredible kinship and admiration for all that the
late Dan Lee had to offer to this community – and
that continues to grow through the efforts of Joanne Pendrak
and Laura Young and so many other devoted volunteers.
As we near the passing of the torch, I
give thanks for both Chris Sheridan, the man who remains
the only reason why the pursuit of a Sudbury Sports Hall
of Fame even continues to this day, and Joe Drago, a critical
supporting ally whose energy to his hometown and dreams
for what could be are absolutely boundless.
I give thanks to the Foligno clan, the
First Family of Hockey in Sudbury. As I pen this very
column, I cannot help but to note that it is a very similar
sense of appreciation for all that we have been blessed
with that drives every single interaction that Mike, Nick,
Marcus and family enjoy with fellow Sudburians. They remain
a glowing example of how to embrace success and leverage
it for the good of many.
On an equal footing are the likes of Rebecca
Johnston and Tracy Fleury, Derek MacKenzie and Erik Wohlberg,
Caroline Ehrhardt and Cloe Lacasse, athletes who have
excelled and never lost sight of their roots – and
who gladly give of their time to maintain those Sudbury
connections.
And they are but the tip of the iceberg.
I give thanks to all of those people who
have devoted years of their life in pursuit of the betterment
of Sudbury hockey. For as much as a gathering of Barry
McCrory, Peter Michelutti (both Jr & Sr), Robert Mazzuca,
Gus Lescault, Albert Corradini and those who have come
and gone (Ken Creasey, Art Connor and the like) would
never in a million years reach a common consensus, they
have remained pillars upon whom I have relied heavily
for help and information.
I give thanks to a local community of
Sudbury sports media who help to keep it fun as we share
thoughts and opinions and stories and wonder about all
that comes our way in a single sporting calendar year.
I give thanks to the very special friendships
with Denis Collin and Ken Campbell, two fellows at completely
opposite ends of the sporting spectrum, and yet both of
whom who continue to fill a role as confidantes and sounding
boards for a writer whose silliness is an engrained personality
trait.
And above all else, I give thanks to the
entirety of my family, to parents who so believed in my
love of sports - even as a clearly below-average athlete
- and to three brothers who never go a month without convening
on a Zoom call that is, quite honestly, a reality show
waiting to happen.
I give endless thanks to our children
– Kristyn, Mark and Stephanie – who somehow
find a way to sprinkle just a touch of pride into their
daily efforts to ensure that humility (or perhaps humliation
– in a loving sense) prevails at the very heart
of who I am.
To Mary-Ellen: words alone could never
express the phenomenal thanks that I share for allowing
me to pursue this dream and supporting my quirkiness every
step of the way. It could not have ever happened wihout
you – and for that, I am eternally grateful.
My life is a series of endless adventures
– and I am but along for the ride.
(apologies to the hundreds not mentioned
by name – the curling and volleyball folks, the
hockey officials, the entire Eastlink family, my friends
in Valley East – and on and on and on) |
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