Michel's Jr. Trappers blog - Getting involved in the community

Jr. Trappers forward Michel Gamache is going to be giving us an up close and personal look at the North Bay Jr. A Trappers in his new blog. Michel will be sharing his stories with us weekly here on BayToday.ca. Enjoy it!

I’d like to start off by saying what an amazing change moving to North Bay has been for me. Not only am I a part of a great organization and hockey team, but I have been given the chance to take part in something that I would have never done had I stayed back home; this being the opportunity to be a part of the wonderful community that North Bay really is. Coming to North Bay I had never done anything of the sort. Sure I’ve completed my 40 hours of community service like any other high school graduate, but I never imagined just how enjoyable the whole experience would be. Some people look at this as a chore, but the way I look at it, it’s a chance to give back to the community and an opportunity to meet new and interesting people, to interact with the kids who are our future, to create some contacts that may or may not be useful in the future, and to bring in a different fan base, and a chance to possibly bring in more fans to our hockey games!

Whether you know it or not, in the past few weeks, I, as well as a couple of other teammates, have been out of the arena and into the community

The first thing we did was make an appearance at the “Jeff and Tanis’” No Frills 1st Anniversary. We welcomed customers into the store, shared a smile and some laughs. We gave away tickets, helped bag customer purchases, and handed out carnations to the lady customers. I had the chance to meet new people, and also to introduce myself to the community. I got to see just how friendly the people of North Bay really are. I think they enjoyed our presence and we were really glad to be able to help. Secondly, last week, some teammates and I, made an appearance at the Mother St. Bride School to help with their Milk Program. It was great to see children willing to help others at such a young age. The kids were very curious as to the “hows and the whys” of a Jr.A hockey player. Lastly, this past Monday, we visited the same school again but this time to read to the students, and to share our experiences and our goals. It was an honor for me to have such young aspiring children looking up to me. Amongst many other things, I shared with them: who I was, how I got started in hockey, and how I ended up in North Bay. I could see myself in many of them. I am proud to be setting a good example for young children and also possibly our future hockey players. I must add — they also had their share of stories tell too! I am proud to say that Matt Weisensel and I have both been a part of each community involvement, and, I speak for both of us when I say that, I’m sure we will both continue to help out and give back for the remainder of our stay in North Bay.