A fitting end to 20 years of dedication

NEW?GLASGOW - A New Glasgow couple has received one of the Royal Canadian Legion's top honours to recognize their 20-year involvement with the organization's track program for youths.
It all started in 1989, when Carol and Henderson Paris were asked to go along as chaperones for the Nova Scotia Track and Field team to the Legion Canadian Youth Athletic Championships in Victoria, B.C.
At the time, Henderson was a coach with the local track and field club, so when the provincial association asked if they'd be interested, they agreed to go along.
Just getting there wasn't as easy as they thought, when their new car broke down on the highway on their way to Halifax airport. A trucker gave them a ride to the next gas station, where the police contacted the airport and made arrangements for someone to pick them up.
"What else were we going to do? All of these athletes were waiting for us in the airport, probably wondering where we were, and couldn't get on the plane without us," said Carol.
But when they reached Victoria, their experiences were so wonderful that they were asked back, and continued to volunteer as chaperones with the provincial team for six years.
At that point, the legion asked the couple to become head chaperones for all of Canada, a position they held for 14 years.
"We were responsible for teams from across Canada, coast to coast, as well as their coaches and chaperones," Carol sad. "And we enjoyed every minute of it."
Those responsibilities includes a spring trip to the location of the championship - it rotated from province to province each year - in order to arrange for all of the championship's accommodations, food services and transportation, Henderson explained.
They'd head back again in August for a few days before the championship began to make sure everything was in order, and stay a few days after the week-long event ended to write reports and recommendations. During the championship, they were on-call 24/7.
For most of that time, the championship became Henderson's summer vacation from Michelin.
"It's been such a good experience and a lot of fun," Henderson said. "But it's a huge responsibility. People trust the legion with their children, and we watch over them."
Over the past 14 years, they've watched the legion program grow and witnessed 6,000 young athletes pass through the program, which has produced Olympians and athletes for the Canadian games and the World Championships.
"Over 20 years, we've see a lot of young people grow, mature, move on in great directions," Henderson said. "We've met an amazing group of people and great athletes across the country. They might not have all gone to the Olympics, but I think it's really shaped a lot of lives."
This year, though, the Paris' came to the end of an era and announced they were retiring from the program after 20 years of service.
"When the final team left I cried," Carol said. "So many emotions - 20 years is a long time. We'll miss it so much, even though we said it was time."
The legion gave the couple a special recognition recently to thank them for their two decades of service.
Wilf Edmond, Dominion Command President for the Royal Canadian Legion, presented the couple with the medals given to the athletes in recognition for their years of service, while the provincial legion gave them one of the highest awards presented by the legion, the Certificate of Merit.