One only had to pay a few visits to Affinity Place during the past week to be convinced of the power of the volunteer.
The Western Canada Cup has come and gone and a whole fleet of volunteers made it happen by running things so smoothly you’d almost think they were professionals, not amateurs, at what they were doing.
There was the usual corps of regular volunteers, who spectators could spot at practically every Bruins home game, and then there were the casual fill-ins who learned to do their temporary jobs on the fly just because they had pride in their city and wanted to see this tournament run properly and not be found wanting on any front.
For the frontline administrators, those who took lead roles in making this happen, our community owes you a big round of applause.
As for those temporary fill-ins, also a hearty round of applause for stepping up when you didn’t necessarily have to, but because you wanted to. You worked into the system rather seamlessly and deserve community congratulations.
It was interesting to note how some many areas had to be covered, how a whole host of details needed to be tended to or else the flaws would lead to breakdowns in the flow of service to the young hockey teams, their fans and other visitors who arrived on our doorstep to watch some good hockey played in a comfortable arena.
A tour of the parking lot during any one of the WCC games revealed a number of out-of-province and yes, out-of-country license plates. This was truly a national and international level event which provided the Energy City the opportunity to put its best foot forward. We believe Estevan did just that.
Certainly there were minor glitches, but nothing to the extent that it caused any major ripples in the steady stream of hockey and hospitality games.
There was some bad blood boiling on the ice, as would be expected when older teenagers get the opportunity to challenge one another in a fast-paced sport. But what was seen elsewhere was a sure sign of acceptance and welcome, and that feeling of goodwill could have gone sideways or south in a hurry without the right people filling in at the right jobs and at the right time.
It was an impressive performance to witness and as the Energy City welcomed the first true signs of spring, the city began to bloom in more ways than one, despite the current economic malaise. That’s another reason to extend a round of applause.
When this city first made the bid for the WCC, the region was humming with oil industry activity and the main concern was having enough accommodations to cater to the visiting teams and their followers.
Well, Saudi Arabia and the economy took care of the local overflow of people, and perhaps threatened the WCC administration and hospitality packages. Those fears were alleviated on the first game of the first day, as the fans and volunteers showed up to do their duty as did the teams. It was a great showcase of young talent on ice and a wonderful warm-up opportunity for the our volunteer based because in just a few more weeks, they’ll get to do it all over again as Energy City plays host to the second segment of a huge double-header of community and corporate hospitality with the arrival of the Saskatchewan Summer Games.
Get ready Estevan, the fun has just begun and it looks like you’re ready to strut your stuff again.Â
