Molson in the Community

Today, on the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, let’s pause with all Canadians and recognize the sacrifices and achievements of those who have served in the cause of peace and freedom, and commemorate Canadians who died in service to Canada in missions around the world over the years.

The peaceful society we in Canada enjoy today is only a dream to many people in the world who live in countries torn apart by violence. This peace is possible because it has been protected by the efforts and sacrifices of generations of Canadians over the years who put their lives on the line. Remembering all that these men and women have done during times of war, military conflict and peace helps us understand the country we live in today and how we can build a better future together.

Molson Coors is proud to acknowledge the Veterans, Canadian Forces members and those who have given their lives in the pursuit of peace, and who have made great contributions to our country and the world. At 11am, we will lower our flags to half-staff until sunset, to commemorate Canada’s courageous veterans, soldiers and their families.

Lest we forget.

Le jour du Souvenir… n’oublions jamais

En ce 11^e jour du 11^e mois de 2011 à 11 h, faisons une pause avec tous les Canadiens afin de reconnaître les sacrifices et les réalisations de ceux qui se sont consacrés à la cause de la paix et de la liberté, et de commémorer les Canadiens qui, au cours des années, ont donné leur vie au service du Canada lors de missions à travers le monde.

La société pacifique où nous les Canadiens vivons aujourd’hui n’est en effet qu’un rêve que caressent plusieurs personnes qui vivent dans des pays déchirés par la violence. Cette paix n’est possible que parce qu’elle a été protégée par les efforts et les sacrifices de générations de Canadiens qui ont mis leur vie en jeu au cours des ans. Nous rappeler ce que ces femmes et ces hommes ont accompli durant les périodes de guerre, de conflits militaires ou de paix nous aide à mieux comprendre le pays où nous vivons de nos jours et la façon de bâtir un meilleur avenir ensemble.

Molson Coors est fière de rendre hommage aux anciens combattants, aux membres des forces armées canadiennes et à ceux qui ont donné leur vie au nom de la quête pour la paix et dont l’apport a contribué au bien-être de notre pays et du monde entier. Dès 11 h, nous abaisserons nos drapeaux à mi-mât jusqu’au coucher du soleil afin de commémorer le courage des vétérans et soldats canadiens ainsi que des membres de leur famille.

Nous nous souviendrons d’eux.

We love receiving photos of how we’re connecting with Canadians across the country…and across oceans. The photo above is of Lt Parker Donaldson (left) and Lt Durant (right) with Don Cherry in Afghanistan, wearing the Molson Canadian caps that we sent over for Operation Santa Claus this year!

Thank you for sharing these photos and for your brave service.  Cheers to you!

Group shot (Lt. Parker Donaldson on far right)

Last week I had the honour of organizing a beer delivery of Molson Canadian to Afghanistan with the help of the Canadian Forces Deployment Resources and Molson Coors’ logistics and distributions team.  With pride, I tweeted that I was doing so and the replies and tweet support that came back made me smile and just think about how much I love my job today and everyday because I work for a company that can and continues to support our troops around the world.

Loading up the truck – Tim Young and Tonia Hammer (me), Molson Coors Canada in Toronto)

Care of @MolsonFerg (who I swear is a walking library on Molson history!), I learned that supplying support to Canadian troops has been a tradition at Molson as far back as the late 1700s when John Molson served his country as a politician in peacetime – and as a soldier during war.

Throughout the War of 1812-14, Mr. Molson – the force behind the establishment of the country’s first commercial steamboat enterprise – enlisted in the force along with two of his sons and dedicated his steamships to the service of the Crown. The Swiftsure was the first steamship to be used in war.

So, on behalf of our employees here at Molson Coors Canada, cheers all of our Canadian Armed Forces and their families – ongoing, but especially now as Canada Day approaches.  We’re raising a toast to your brave service.

Cheers, @MolsonTonia

Earlier this year I got a call from a colleague of mine at Molson wondering if there was a good home from some extra Molson Canadian hockey sticks and jerseys.  I thought PERFECT! – last year Molson sponsored a hockey team in Kandahar and I figured they would absolutely need some new sticks this year.  After some emails back and forth with my contact, I was put in touch with Major Tim Hogan in Kandahar and together we were able to coordinate a shipment of sticks and jerseys to be used for their ball hockey league.

A couple weeks later, Tim surprised me with some news that they had very special guests at their base  – The Minister of National Defence Peter McKay, Minister of Industry Tony Clement and Senator Pamela Wallin were there along with some families of soldiers who died while serving.  The guests joined in the game and Tim was kind enough to send over some photos for me to share on our blog!

We created a “Hockey Night in Kandahar banner”  which will go up in New Canada House over the TV so the guys can see it when they are watching hockey

Master Warrant Officer Marshall Dumont with the Peter Mckay, Minister of National Defence (who I hear had a hat-trick!)

Canadian soldiers and next of kin of soldiers with the Olympic torch which the Minister of National Defense brought over.

Again, thank you to Tim for the photos and to all the brave men and women across the world representing Canada.  Cheers to you.

BEST. DAY. EVER. last week when we got a letter from Ryan Seguin, TUAV Ops in Kandahar.  Ryan is one of the members of the TUAV Hockey Team in Afganistran that Molson has been supporting over the last year (see pics and read more about the team), and we were thrilled last Thursday to receive two parcels in the mail from him.  Just had to post a blog about it – was blown away by what he sent! Check it out.

Kevin Boyce, CEO and President, Molson

Ryan sent us a propeller that was on the UAV that had flown over Afghanistan during a mission in March.  All the hockey team members signed the propeller. Everyone wrote a little note too, which was the best part!

Messages on the propeller

Messages on the propeller

Messages on the propeller

They also sent us some Pashmina’s from the local area.  The ladies in the office loooooooved these!

Thank you to Ryan, the Hockey team and ALL our Canadian Armed Forces.  Cheers from all of us at Molson….@toniahammer

The Molson jerseys arrived in Afghanistan and they sent us a team pic – looking good guys!

On the team – Front Row: Jimmy Stewart, Sylvain Lapierre, Chuck Campbel, Mike Candow, Doug Clark, Eric Landry, Alex Desjardins

Back Row: Jason Forrest, Shawn Davidson, Travis Wolfe, Rick Reid, Barry Crocker, Carol Savard, Mathew Astles, Brandon Besaw, Ryan Seguin, Jack Cuypers, Moo Gerrow

Missing: Randy Arseneau, Wayne Belaire

Season Update from Charles Campbell on Jan. 28th (see post):
“The team finished the season with a win over the Slovakian MPs. A hard fought, fast paced, and action packed 10-4 victory. For the most part we shut down the classic European style breakaway passing game. With the win we finished the regular season with an 13-5 record. The playoffs are set to start in a few days.
Bdr Eric Landry and Bdr Wayne Belair will display their talent next week during the KHL All Star game, complete with a skills competition.”

Thanks for the photos guys! Keep the updates coming.  Best of luck in the playoffs

In Adam’s blog yesterday, he mentioned that we created some custom Molson Canadian jerseys for the Kandahar Hockey League (KLH) in Afghanistan.

Well, the jerseys arrived at Molson in Toronto this morning and we’ll be shipping them out later today….but first, we thought we’d model them for all to see!  (Thanks to my fabulous Molson models Paul and Barb).

Each Jersey is personalized for the players (Paul)

Face-off (Me, Barb, Paul)….I won

The KHL team logo on the front (Paul)

We’ve asked the team to send a group photo once they’ve received the jerseys so I can post it here too. Cheers and good luck in the playoffs!