It's been about 48 hrs since Hockey 4 Heroes this past Saturday and I'm still up in the clouds. I haven't felt this many emotions since the birth of my son 7 years ago. For the past 4 months Hockey 4 Heroes had literally consumed me. I was literally operating on fumes when Saturday finally arrived and as many of you already know, the weather was not looking good.
We had already postponed once and we couldn't postpone again, it was rain or shine! I can't even describe what the drive to the site was like at 6:30am, as I watched out my window praying the rain would hold off. When I arrived the rain followed suit and didn't let up for much of the morning.
On the one hand I was very pleased with what we had pulled together and I couldn't believe how amazing all the volunteers were, but on the other hand I felt a lot of guilt because it was evident from early on that the event wouldn't be the financial success we had hoped for. I felt bad for sponsors who invested time and money and probably didn't get all they had hoped for, but then an amazing thing happened. My son came up to me with another young boy and they had ear to ear grins on their faces. Both of them told me how this was the most amazing thing they had ever seen and with the snap of a finger I remembered exactly why we were hosting this event.
Around 11am the Sun cracked it's way through the sky and Mayor Rick Goldring, MPP Eleanor McMahon and myself handled the opening ceremonies and had a very fun time cutting through our ribbon to signify the start of the first ever Hockey 4 Heroes. The KidsZone was a huge success as kids filled the rides. By far the human hamster ball races and human bowling attractions took the cake as favorite rides. Seeing those kids rolling around in the giant balls was exactly what I needed and had hoped for.
Raina Krangle from Raina's Rainbow got the Sun fully shining with her amazing performance and it was followed by the amazing Lorne Lampert of Mystic Drumz. You want to talk about a guy who is amazing with children audiences, Lorne is that guy. We finished our shows with a performance from PRO Martial Arts and the kids in their uniforms were unbelievable.
Yes it wasn't all that I had hoped for, but I think I got even more than what I expected in many ways. The connections we made, the smiles that were shared and the realization that we can do this and we can do this often, are what made this event so amazing for me. I want to personally thank everyone for all their efforts and support during this crazy time in our lives.
The Josh Project and Hockey 4 Heroes will be back and better than ever next year and we look forward to continuing our journey.
We had already postponed once and we couldn't postpone again, it was rain or shine! I can't even describe what the drive to the site was like at 6:30am, as I watched out my window praying the rain would hold off. When I arrived the rain followed suit and didn't let up for much of the morning.
On the one hand I was very pleased with what we had pulled together and I couldn't believe how amazing all the volunteers were, but on the other hand I felt a lot of guilt because it was evident from early on that the event wouldn't be the financial success we had hoped for. I felt bad for sponsors who invested time and money and probably didn't get all they had hoped for, but then an amazing thing happened. My son came up to me with another young boy and they had ear to ear grins on their faces. Both of them told me how this was the most amazing thing they had ever seen and with the snap of a finger I remembered exactly why we were hosting this event.
Around 11am the Sun cracked it's way through the sky and Mayor Rick Goldring, MPP Eleanor McMahon and myself handled the opening ceremonies and had a very fun time cutting through our ribbon to signify the start of the first ever Hockey 4 Heroes. The KidsZone was a huge success as kids filled the rides. By far the human hamster ball races and human bowling attractions took the cake as favorite rides. Seeing those kids rolling around in the giant balls was exactly what I needed and had hoped for.
Raina Krangle from Raina's Rainbow got the Sun fully shining with her amazing performance and it was followed by the amazing Lorne Lampert of Mystic Drumz. You want to talk about a guy who is amazing with children audiences, Lorne is that guy. We finished our shows with a performance from PRO Martial Arts and the kids in their uniforms were unbelievable.
Yes it wasn't all that I had hoped for, but I think I got even more than what I expected in many ways. The connections we made, the smiles that were shared and the realization that we can do this and we can do this often, are what made this event so amazing for me. I want to personally thank everyone for all their efforts and support during this crazy time in our lives.
The Josh Project and Hockey 4 Heroes will be back and better than ever next year and we look forward to continuing our journey.
Great thoughts and very personal...Bravo to you Joshua with your commitment and hard work!
ReplyDeleteThank you Josh for all the time and energy that you put into this event. It is only a glimpse of things to come:) Jeanette
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