Molson in the Community

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about an incredible accomplishment of one of our employees in Toronto — rollerblading almost 50km for MS.  Alain Quintard has done it again, this time rollerblading the Defi de L’lle de Montreal (Montreal Island Challenge).  Here’s his story!

On Saturday, October 18, I completed my 4th “Défi de L’Ile de Montréal”. Before starting, I was not too optimistic, thinking I wouldn’t have as good of a performance as last year.  But I think all the planets were in line for me this year, and after approximately 30,000 strokes, 3 liters of Gatorade, 4 liters of water, and no wipe outs, I completed the 128 km event in 6 hours and 54 minutes. Simply amazing!

Not only did I break the 7 hour mark (I had considered that out of my reach), but I also shave 19 minutes off my best time from last year. I can humbly say that I don’t know why I got such a good result but, in fact, I can think of several excellent reasons:

• There was almost no wind for the entire run. Huge factor!
• I had brand new wheels and bearings so friction was reduce to a minimum. Another important factor.
• The surface was completely dry – Montréal had not received rain for 3 days prior to the event. Thanks to my friend Jeff who confirmed with me before the run that he was to talk to the weather gods!
• The temperature was a little cool (only 2 degrees) at 6:00 in the morning when we started, but the risk of having a heat stroke was nil
• And the main factor: my friends Patrice and Michel who escorted me on their bikes along this challenge.  Not only did they carry water and energy drinks, but they also “pampered” me to ensure I wasn’t missing anything: “Do you need water?”, “How you’re doing?”, “Not too tired?”, “Keep on going!”. They even opened the road to protect me from the light breeze facing us and were regularly pointing out cracks and holes in the asphalt. They no doubt helped me surpass my performance, and  feel quite honored and privileged to have run with such great guys!

Overall, I finished in much better shape compared to previous years; I only have to report a few blisters on both feet that are already healing quite nicely.

I’m now taking what I believe is a well deserved break while still enjoying the satisfaction of having achieved something really “out of the norm”.  But before long you will see me again around the block on my wheels!

Finally, I should add that during this run, I had a special thoughts for those who unfortunately will never have the opportunity of doing what I did because of some physical handicap. Of course, I’m thinking of people affected by MS, a cause dear to my heart. But there are also many other people facing different hurdles. I sincerely hope that everyone will remember that regardless of how difficult a challenge seems to be, patience and determination can accomplish a lot – one step forward is one step closer to reaching a goal. Although sometimes you won’t “win”, just trying is already a victory.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this note.

Cheers,

Alain

Photo L – R: Steve Dykeman, Regional Manager NB/PEI, Molson; Jean-François Damphousse Director of Hockey Administration, Dieppe Commandos

The giving continued on Sunday when I presented a $10,000 donation to the Dieppe Commandos Education Fund at the team’s home game.  These funds will go to help members of the Maritime Junior A team offset their education costs if they achieve pre-determined academic goals.

This is our third year of the partnership and we are proud of our association with this great organization.  They will be hosting the Fred Page Cup in 2009 and we will be behind them all the way.

The Molson Maritime team rolled up its sleeves at Food Depot Alimentaire in Moncton for our United Way Day of Caring. Food Depot Alimentaire is an organization that supports and services over 20 food banks, community kitchens and agencies in southeastern New Brunswick. They do great work and have been a charitable partner of Molson for a few years now. When we arrived we encountered pallets of food that needed to be unpacked, sorted and repacked for distribution to food banks across southeastern New Brunswick. In true Molson style, we took the task and made quick work of the challenge.  What a great feeling to be part of a team that approaches everything with such passion.
This weekend the Molson team is celebrating our first anniversary of our Moncton brewery with more charitable activities so stay tuned…

The “Jack Gives Back” event gave me an opportunity to work with Ian on the Molson Donation Fund presentation.  As you may have noticed in our community blogs our Public Affairs department likes to present to our charities in a most unique fashion, you will not see too many photo’s with a big cheque front and centre.  Ian was very polite as I expresssed my ideas to him and he was a good sport to take the branded 6 foot spinal board with him!!  Ian has shared his experience below.  Way to go Ian!!

Attending this event just goes to show there are all kinds of nice people trying to do nice things to help others.  I didn’t know Jack Rafacz until an acquaintance at the gym told me about the fundraiser Jack was having for the Sunnybrook Trauma and Critical Care Unit and wondered if there was something Molson might be able to do to contribute to the event.  It turns out that Jack was a chef at the 4-Seasons and he was organizing a benefit dinner, complete with menu and volunteer chefs – his former colleagues.  The reason he was doing this was to give back to Sunnybrook. He was struck by a car almost 2 years ago, was in a medically induced coma for 6 weeks but now has gone through a remarkable rehabilitation.  So he was a living example of the remarkable talent of the medical teams at Sunnybrook. Anyway, instead of a few door prizes, Molson came through with a cheque for $5000 to the Sunnybrook Foundation. I guess we can all hope to never see the inside of Sunnybrook’s trauma centre but it’s comforting to know they are there and continue to make such a positive difference in the lives of those who have needed them.

By the way, the food was fantastic, the beer was cold and Jack continues to exercise at the YMCA.

Holy tougher than I thought it would be!  Sunday morning I joined hundreds of others at the CN Tower Climb for the United Way. It was the corporate team challenge climb, so the Molson team (25 of us) took the challenge and climbed the 144 flights/1776 stairs.  We raised over $9,000 for the United Way!

I got to the tower around 6:00 a.m. because I was told by many who have climbed before to get there early to avoid lines…..and to avoid the ’sweaty’ stairwell.  I registered, walked over to the tower, and started the hike up (lots of people ran which I thought was silly. Why waste so much energy running to the tower before climbing!!?).  The stairwell is pretty narrow with no windows, and the flight numbers are painted on the wall at the top of each one.  At first the numbers didn’t bother me; it was nice to know how far I had climbed. But by the time I reached about 75, I just avoided looking at them — found it frustrating.

The first 75 flights were great!  I felt good, kept a steady pace and enjoyed the early morning workout.  Then by 100 or so, I was definitely feeling it.  I actually thought the climb was 127 flights for some reason, so I’m sure you can imagine what went through my mind when I reached 127…and then 128.

I made it to the top in 20 minutes and 44 seconds!  Proud of my time, but know I can beat it next year.  It’s pretty cool to be able to say you climbed Canada’s national tower and former world’s tallest building.  My friend Peter said it best after we finished the climb — check that off your list of things to do in life! Peter was also the superstar of Molson’s team, raising over $3,000!

Great workout, great experience, great cause.

Did you do the climb?  Was it what you expected?  What was your climb time?