To the Editor,
My wife Jean and I would like to thank the Alberni Valley Junior Hockey Society for inviting us to attend their fundraising banquet on Feb. 28.
It was much more than just extremely enjoyable. What struck us both was the incredible community spirit which bathed the Athletic Hall with the kind of warmth and support common to nearly all smaller towns and cities (which we both grew up in) but much more difficult to find in a metropolis like Vancouver where we now live.
Hockey binds Canadians together perhaps more than any other sport in any other country. But hockey doesn’t teach you to be kind, generous or thoughtful of others. That falls to the people not on the ice and behind the scenes.
It was exhilarating and rewarding to see the quality of people in Port Alberni ready and willing to support both the physical and personal development of these young men, who in exchange literally wear their community on their chest.
Whether or not the Bulldog players realize it now, they were privy to a great life lesson at the banquet. They will be better citizens for it down the road, and will in turn pass those values onto the next generation.
Dr. Bob Hindmarch,
Vancouver
