life in the community | column
lifelines
WITH LINDA BRUCE
Defining Heroes W
hat defines a great community? I bet if a hundred citizens were gathered to ponder this question a hundred ideas would emerge. People would speak of their neighbourhoods, their sports interests, their church groups; schools would pop up. There would be discussion around amenities, such as shopping, recreation facilities, clean and safe streets. Perhaps sooner or later the discussion would move to people. Great neighbours can sure define a great community. Volunteers make community events (ARTember!) come together. They ensure that kids can play their favourite league sport and that field trips can happen at local schools. I think the real essence of community rests with our local heroes. Heroes often come in the shape of a police officer, a firefighter or a paramedic. Certainly, we can look to Sept. 11, 2001, and recognize heroism at its most intense. People take jobs that put them in harm’s way every day so that the community has peace and safety. Look at our soldiers in such places as Afghanistan. They surely are heroes to many Afghans, who recognize that their own peace may come at the hands of our dedicated Canadian men and women who leave something of themselves behind in Afghanistan. Some become heroes because they put a special cause above themselves. I clearly remember in 1980 standing outside of the Dairy Queen in Dartmouth, N.S., and seeing a young man run by with a few people close behind him. What was extraordinary was the fact that he had a prosthetic leg. I thought it was a road race and assumed this amputee was winning. That night I discovered Terry Fox when I watched the news. Seven years later we watched Rick Hansen wheel around the world. Here were two men who gave so much of themselves for causes they believed in. In Airdrie we have had our share of local heroes. Jonathan Dockman and Tim Harriman are two fine men who come to mind. In 2003 John ran across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer. Four years later Tim biked across Canada with the same mission for childhood cancer. Two young men – two local heroes. Is heroism always about the extraordinary? There are people in Airdrie I consider some of our many unsung heroes. These are folks who quietly go about the business of building community, with little fanfare but great personal satisfaction. If they were singled out they would flatly deny they do anything special. But they are special. They have the capacity to bring community together to get a job done or they are the quiet background support person at all our community functions. I think everyone can put a name to the descriptions above. In my eyes, Jodi Matsuba-Sucz (founder of the Mayor’s Run and Airdrie Aces Athletics Club) and Ron Simons (if there is sound at an event it is probably Ron behind the scenes) are just two of hundreds of people in this community who define ‘community.’ Their names may not be known to you, which is my point. Heroes are a quiet lot. They don’t know they are heroes, but we do. THANKS! life
62 airdrielife.com | winter 2011-2012