If the community at large is still complaining about the cool, wet early summer a pause may be in order to express heartfelt gratitude for the recent warm light cast by the visiting Pontiacs alumni.
It was two years ago when 13 surviving members of the Innisfail Pontiacs 1962-63 midget hockey team decided to honour their late coach, Innisfailian Larry Reid, who passed away in December 2016. Even in this internet age getting 13 retirees who live from one side of the country to the other to agree to an appropriate tribute plan is not the easiest thing to do.
But there was no hesitation whatsoever. They quickly came up with a plan. It would be called the Larry Reid Memorial Coaching Development Fund, and despite each of the 13 alumni members living in different communities from one end of Canada to the other, the target of the fund would be this Central Alberta town, specifically to help develop the skills of local coaches.
"The greater the skill of the coach the better the player should become, and you got happier kids on the ice too," said Pontiacs alumnus Vern Fox on July 5.
Fox and his teammates then did something extraordinary. Through hard work and dedication they turned the fund into a legally incorporated foundation that will provide the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association with an annual grant of at least $3,400, and that will be every year -- yes, forever.
The retired Pontiacs came from all parts of Canada to Innisfail on July 5 to 7 to officially announce and hand over their Larry Reid memorial project back into the hands of this community.
This was done almost six decades after suiting up under the guidance of coach Reid for that memorable 1962-63 hockey season. They were just teenage boys then, preparing themselves for the rigours, sacrifices and ultimate triumph of adulthood. They never forgot what coach Reid meant to them way back then, and right up to this very day.
Most importantly the Pontiacs found a perfect way to ensure Larry Reid's contributions to minor hockey would never be forgotten.
In doing so they not only created a perfect tribute for coach Reid but added inspiration, strength, commitment and love to his community, including its future hockey heroes.
