Page 19 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 13

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FILION AWARDS & SPECIALITY GIFTS

“Helping people honour people”

606 Montreal Road
Cornwall, ON
K6H 1C2
Tel: 613-938-0545
Fax: 613-938-0067

filiontrophies@sympatico.ca

The Men and Women in the Stands:

Ushers a Part of the Team Too

By Marc Benoit same thing!”
However that event paled in
t takes more than a team of players
Ito make a hockey club a success. comparison to Emond’s most
memorable experience. “When the
That is why Rene Emond has been Royals won the Memorial cup, I was
an usher with various Cornwall
amazed to see that, and I was a part
hockey teams for over forty years. of it,” he says proudly.
In that time, he’s been a part of a
game that has brought communities And, with a new generation of
together, and which sometimes young hockey fans, Emond offers

brings the Memorial Cup home too. some advice for people trying to find
His motivation goes beyond just love their role in the community.
for hockey.
“If you wanted to be in law
“I see kids growing up, they leave enforcement, this is the best way to
here and go on to university, and later start. We had a few students from St.
on they come back and they’re like Lawrence College coming here as
family,” says Emond. Always happy part of their program, and it did help.
to reminisce about the old days, he They made up their mind if that’s
mentions Doug Gilmour as one of what they want to get into.”
many friends he still bumps into. It’s not just about making sure
“They all come back and I see them,
people behave themselves though.
we have a good time.”
The ushers who volunteer countless
Emond became more involved with hours are in many ways the face of
the sport over time, before he found the team. Whether it is by helping
himself volunteering in more sports someone find their seat, or even just

than just hockey. by chatting with the regulars who
never miss a game, the usher helps
“I started from watching one game,
I think it was the Montreal Maroons determine what impression the fan
leaves the rink with. Teams win and
here playing. That was in…the early
50s?” This was when Emond was sport. Emond expressed his concern seen lots of excitement from the teams lose, but going home feeling
asked if he could help out around with the ferocity that some games are crowds. Emond recounted some of like you’re part of something is
the arena, to make sure fans behaved played with, today. his favourite experiences dealing worth the price of admission.
themselves, at least to some degree. “Hockey is always going to be here, with rowdy sports fans. Hockey would be much less than
“Everything was okay, nothing on the providing it doesn’t get any rougher “One time I saw Guy Leclerc it is without the fans, which is why
ice, that kind of thing,” says Emond. than it is now,” he says. “There were playing in Cornwall and he was not Emond wishes that more people
“That’s how I got started, then I got fi ghts in those days, but it’s not like playing as good as he should have. should attend Cornwall’s home
more involved and more involved.” it is now… It’s getting rougher and The fans that were here were pretty games. “When you’re coming to
there is no need for it.” watch a game you’re also helping a
The long-time usher also had a few rowdy, and that kind of bothered him
things to say about the future of the Over the years, the ushers have a lot. If you asked him, he’d say the player make it to a higher level.”

“People Pulling Together for you”

613.936.0660 • www.minimaxexpress.com
605 Education Rd. Cornwall, ON, K6H 6C7