By Sheldon Spackman

MacLean joins Rebels in Paint the Community event

Jan 22, 2019 | 4:31 PM

Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean and members of the Red Deer Rebels were among the special guests in attendance at the Bridges Community Living Centre Tuesday for the seventh annual Paint the Community event.

Part of the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game festivities, this year’s Paint the Community event saw roughly 20 staff and volunteers from local Sherwin-Williams Paint store locations and the Bridges Community Living Centre apply a fresh coat of paint to the main dining area of the facility on Piper Drive in the Pines neighbourhood.

The centre formerly known as Pines Lodge has 80 units and is described as helping seniors transition into safe, comfortable and affordable living spaces while advocating to all levels of government of the rising need for more affordable housing for seniors.

Geoff Olson, Executive Director for the Bridges Community Living Centre says the event is a great example of the community coming together to support low-income seniors housing in Red Deer.

“We were overwhelmed when Sherwin-Williams and CHL came forward with this and said, ‘We’d love to do this paint job for you,’” he exclaims. “You can see by the size of the room it’s a big job no matter what. They did an amazing job, they came in early yesterday morning and were virtually all done by 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon.”  

project will take one year

Construction activity to start on hospital parkade expansion

1h ago

Red Deer man charged after police locate stolen vehicle

1h ago

City and County to collaborate on regional economic development with NRED grant

4h ago

Curt Kaucher, vice president of sales – Canada at Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores says the event is a great way for them to get involved in the community.

“It’s really easy for us as an organization to one, get out there and meet our customers but also to give back and provide a little colour and inspiration and make people maybe lift their spirits up a little bit,” says Kaucher. “We’ve been doing this for quite some time and as an organization, we do this routinely throughout the course of the year. With the CHL, we’ve been doing this for the past five years and it’s just been a rewarding experience for our team members, the CHL, as well as the community.”

In town for the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at the Centrium in Red Deer Jan. 23, WHL commissioner Ron Robison says the Paint the Community event is another great example of the league’s players giving back to their communities.

“Reaching out and touching people in the community is extremely important,” states Robison. “It’s more than just hockey and its more than just developing players. At the end of the day it’s about interacting with the community and making sure that we appreciate all the support we receive and certainly from the City of Red Deer which has been tremendous to the Western Hockey League and the Canadian Hockey League overall.”

Also in town for the big game, Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean, formerly of Red Deer, says it’s great to be back and see first-hand the spirit of the Red Deer Rebels and CHL at work in the community.

“It’s a really exciting hockey celebration and obviously to come up to the Lodge is very touching, so really a thrill to be home,” adds MacLean. “On the ice at practice today, every player I spoke to was taking to somebody other than themselves and thankful for the support they’ve received either from family or young hockey admirers and that’s what it’s all about. If you play the game, you’ve obviously earned it for yourself and it’s your career but if you play the game with that gratitude and that fun that those people gave you, it’s amazing what you can do.”

Red Deer Rebels who took part in Tuesday’s Paint the Community event included Cameron Hausinger, Brett Davis and Alex Morozoff.