NEW GLASGOW - Ron MacLean of Hockey Night in Canada fame delighted a crowd at the Pictou County Wellness Centre Monday morning with stories that covered a wide variety of topics from his time in the Coach’s Corner with Don Cherry to hosting Battle of the Blades with Kurt Browning.
MacLean was the keynote speaker for the YMCA of Pictou County’s 50th Breakfast Birthday Bash. During the event the YMCA also presented their recipients of this year’s Peace Medal Awards and announced some gift services they are providing this year.
“I look up to Ron. He’s a special man. For him to come to New Glasgow to do this for us is a great feeling for me and a great feeling for hopefully our community,” former NHL player Jon Sim said introducing MacLean.
During his speech MacLean highlighted some instances of sportsmanship he had witnessed over the years as examples of promoting peace.
A peculiar thing of Canadian figure skating pairs is that they don’t skate together to warm up, he said as he told the story of an accident that occurred during the warmups at the 2002 Olympics.
Jamie Salé was out warming up alone when she collided with Russian Anton Sikharulidze who was warming up with his partner Elena Berezhnaya.
“I remember Anton quickly picking up Jamie Salé. David (Pelletier, her partner) came skating from about 60 feet away,” MacLean recalled. “There’s this gorgeous photo of Anton holding Jamie Salé and trying to explain to David what had happened. It was an accident.”
There was nothing but good sportsmanship between the skaters.
Controversy surrounded the final skate when it was discovered that a French judge had been pressured into awarding the long program to the Russian team. In the end both teams were awarded gold, which MacLean described as fitting.
“The moral is if you take care of each other, the rest will take care of itself.”
He described other similar moments in rowing and one well known to people in Pictou County of Jon Sim and Colin White of Pictou County embracing each other after playing against each other in the Stanley Cup final.
“I love that moment of Colin and Jon embracing. We could show it on Hockey Night in Canada or Rogers Hometown Hockey time and again.”
During the event Monday YMCA CEO Jim Pomeroy announced three new gifts to the community.
On the first Friday of the month they will now be offering access to youth for free. They are also giving five youth membership grants for each of the high schools, Pictou Landing First Nation and one to a general application.
They are also partnering with the Aberdeen Palliative Care Society to allow access to the YMCA for caregivers and family who might need a recharge while their loved one is in palliative care.
Peace Medals were also presented.
The recipients of this year’s peace medals were….
Youth – Jeana’s Girls
In April 2016, Nina Davey created a Relay for Life team in memory of her best friend Jeana. Jeana’s Girls are defined as a “kindness club.” The group fundraises and brings awareness to causes related to childhood cancer and disease. Jeana’s girls volunteer and have created a bursary for a Pictou County Youth.
Individuals – Terry and Carol Curley
Terry and Carol Curley promote health, wellness and community spirit with the Johnny Miles events. They encourage all ages to be healthy and active together.
Organization – Shepherd’s Lunch Room
The Shepherd’s Lunch Room provides a lunch twice a week to the community. The program creates social inclusion and a sense of community. This year, the Shepherd’s Lunch Room has served more than 8,000 lunches.
