Tuesday, January 5, 2010 - Submitted by President/CEO of MidgetAAACanada.com Rick Virag
A letter from the President/CEO of MidgetAAACanada.com Rick Virag
Those of you who know me, know that I have no problem expressing myself, lol.
Sometimes though, we all find ourselves at a loss for words, or should I say the correct words, and for me this is one of them because words are not nearly enough.
So I would appreciate you taking the time to read this entire article it's worth the time.
I grew up in Montreal and spent my childhood in the 70's watching the Habs win Stanley Cup after Stanley Cup, and like most other Canadian boys, dreaming of playing in the NHL.
Then when my family told me we were moving to California when I was 15, my dream of moving onto higher level hockey was over because minor hockey was in its infancy in Los Angeles, so I had to "hang 'em up".
When my son was born and he got interested in the game, it was my opportunity to fall in love with the game again. I decided to step in as Head Coach, and coached him through Midget hockey, which took us all over North America where we shared our love of the game.
After he was done playing, I continued coaching and spent 12 seasons behind the bench because I enjoyed it so much, and then I decided to take it one HUGE step further by creating MidgetAAACanada.com.
My goal was and is to celebrate minor hockey and the game itself while helping players get opportunities in hockey and in life. Even though I have worked an exorbitant amount of time, the rewards have been many and I can't think of one any better than this.
When my partner Brad Belland (Ex-11 year pro player/OHL Alumni/Windsor Native) called his childhood buddies Warren Rychel, Bob Boughner and Peter Dobrich, who had just purchased the OHL Windsor Spitfires, to co-sponsor a big Midget AAA tournament, we couldn't have never dreamed of meeting someone as special as Jim Gregory.
Every time I think about his contributions to hockey and most importantly humanity, I keep on getting blown away.
This is a gentleman who has absolutely no reason to take time out of his VERY busy NHL schedule to come to our tournament in Windsor, Ontario from his home in Toronto. And believe me I am not the "star struck" type having played music professionally in Los Angeles with some of the biggest names in the music business. So I know what "celebrities" do and don't do when it comes to going out of their way.
The fact that last year he came to our tournament to support minor hockey and lend a hand to the charity that MidgetAAACanada.com has named our "Charity of Choice", Jake's House for Children with Autism, is an act of generosity that quite simply defines the type of man Jim Gregory is.
He met with families, fans, coaches and players at our tournament, made an inspirational speech to our All Stars (which can be seen as our Highlight Video right here on MidgetAAACanada.com), and whatever else he could do to help make our event extra special.
Then when we got the news that Jim had suffered a massive heart attack shortly thereafter, we were sick with worry. When he finally pulled through and we were kept informed by the Bodanis', we knew that G-d wasn't ready to take this angel just yet.
When we heard the news that Mr. Gregory was coming to our tournament, it came with the comment "Now is the time that they need me there to help promote the tournament".
That's when 74 year old Jim Gregory hopped in his car in Toronto and drove to Windsor. Just unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again, he met with fans, families, coaches and players, gave our All Stars another awesome dressing room inspirational speech, he dropped the ceremonial puck at the All Star game played in honour of his charity tournament, the NHL Endorsed Jim Gregory Friendship Tournament benefiting special needs kids, and he attended our awards banquet, gave an unbelievable speech to our packed crowd, made his way to the stage to shake every coach's hand, posed for pictures with the MVP players, and set the night on fire!
Just so that you players know....
One minute he's handing someone the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy, and the next the MidgetAAACanada.com Cup Tournament and Team MVP awards.
Think about how special that is, and then think about what kind of man you have to be to do that, and then think of what an honour and privilege it is to have Mr. Gregory care about you, your family and coaches to do what he did.
We are SO blessed to have Jim associated with our tournament, that my usual gift of gab is stifled with humility. I don't think the players felt the gravity of who they were in the presence of.
Not only has he lived the dream of working in the hockey world all his life, which is something any one of the players in our tournament would dream of, but the fact that regardless of all of stars, big ceremonies, and accolades he has received and been a part of, he has NEVER forgotten or lost touch with the roots and passion of the game.
It's what drives him, makes him smile and you can see it.
I kept on telling him what an honour it was to have him, and how we appreciated everything he was doing, and how we could never thank him enough, and he said " No, it's MY honour to be invited here and my pleasure to help".
I'm absolutely blown away!!! And I know I speak for all of us here at MidgetAAACanada.com.
In a day and age where people are so stretched thin, multi-tasking, tired, overworked, etc., here is a 74 year old Legend of hockey, recent heart attack survivor who thought that it was important enough to be there for the players, families, coaches and fans to get in his car in the Winter and drive four hours to be there for us.
Jim, you are our inspiration, and always will be. I know that personally, I can't model myself after a better mentor than what you have shown me as an ambassador to the game and mankind.
As I watched your Hall of Fame Induction Acceptance Speech, you mentioned all the people who had inspired you, and I can just imagine how great they were.
You represent so many hockey dreams, yet you make us feel like superstars. Your contributions to hockey and to humanity are immeasurable!
On behalf of everyone here at MidgetAAACanada.com, the teams, families and coaches who were lucky enough to meet a man as gracious as you, THANK YOU!!
If there's anything we can ever do for you, consider it done!
Sincerely yours in hockey,
Rick Virag President/CEO MidgetAAACanada.com
ATTENTION FRIENDS: Please click on the following links for a brief history on NHL Legend Jim Gregory.
