Order of Ontario Don Cherry

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Don Cherry
Order of Ontario

Ontario Honours and Awards Secretariat,
Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration,
400 University Avenue, 4th floor,
Toronto, Ontario,
M7A 2R9

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing this on behalf of our members...
hockey parents who are willing to encourage
and support their children and at the request
of Brian Weller, who's two boys went through
the Heron Park minor hockey program in
Toronto.

Brian has nominated Don Cherry for the 2008
Order of Ontario Award and has asked our
association to supply a written testimonial
attesting to Don's achievements and this, we
are most willing to provide.

Don Cherry has been a staunch supporter to
Canadian children as they develop their social
and athletic skills and has gone on record as
a defender of Canadian hockey parents.

One of Don's greatest achievements, in our
estimation was changing the perception of
minor hockey parents. In 2003, Hockey
Canada tried to paint a picture of two
diametrically opposed stereotypes, one
portraying a hockey parent's extreme
dedication and selflessness while the other
choose to highlight the overbearing attitudes
held by a small portion of the hockey parent
population. Unfortunately, the governing body
for Canadian amateur hockey seemed to have
mistaken which of these depicts the true
description of a minor hockey parent, and chose
the latter as a 'typical' hockey parent.

For all those Canadian hockey fans who devotedly
tuned their television sets to their local sports
network to watch the current games of the day,
it was nearly impossible to miss these commercials
which labeled a minor hockey parent as a success-craved
individual who gained their social stature
through their children's achievements.

Only those individuals who have traveled to the
rink at five o'clock on a Saturday morning and
sacrificed their own luxuries to provide the funds
required for their children to participate in
Canadian Hockey can truly recognize the definition
of a typical hockey parent.

In the fall of 2003, during an episode of Coach's
Corner on CBC, Don voiced his opinion that those commercials
were discriminating to Canadian hockey parents and labeled them
as 'sickening.' Don stated,
'I'm a hockey grandparent, and my daughter is a
hockey parent and I don't like the idea that somehow
or other the word ‘hockey parent' has become a dirty word.'

Cherry's powerful comments received an
overwhelming amount of positive feedback. Don
was quoted at the time as saying, 'I was out last night
at a minor hockey game and I have never had such a
positive reaction in anything I've done in 23 years on
Hockey Night in Canada. More so than the war, more than
anything that I've done, I had parents coming
up to me, talking to me and saying 'thank you.''
Don Cherry made it clear to millions of viewers that,
in his opinion, those commercials were nothing more than a
'bitter insult' to anyone who has fallen under
the category of a 'hockey parent,' and for this and
his other good works, Don Cherry, in our humble
opinion richly deserves the 2008 Order of Ontario.

Gerry Hickey
CHPA Advisory Director

hickey@canadianhockeyparents.com

Not everyone will agree with Gerry Hickey's monthly column "Tell It Like It Is". However, he plans to be true to himself by sharing with others his feelings on some tough topics. Some articles may not be hockey related. Some articles may get a bit heated or take a life of their own. He will not hold back and will "Tell It Like It Is"

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CHPA Adds Travel, Chat, Search
Hickey Delivery's Message
Rants & Raves
Houston we Have a Problem
Full of Bull & Dangerous
Public Arenas
Hockey or Poker
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Contact or Non-Contact
Another Season
Minor Hockey Emails
Education or Hockey?
Hockey or Church?

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