Saturday, October 30, 2010
If you are a 911 Network member, you need to read this...
Thursday, October 28, 2010
What you can get at the dollar store...
Subject: touching letter from the Toronto Star.
What you can get at the dollar store
Published On Fri Oct 22 2010
An ordinary day at work took a heartbreaking turn when York Regional Police Platoon Sgt. Rob Cullen was called to a home in Keswick last week. Moved and determined to honour the man found lifeless and alone, Cullen sent his story to AM640 Radio.
THE LETTER
Last night, while working in my usual role as a police platoon sergeant, we were called to a VSA . . . vital signs absent, in the basement apartment of a house just north of Keswick.
The victim was 78 years old. A retired firefighter, he had served from 1959 to 1989 with the North York Fire Department. It no longer exists, having been enveloped by the Toronto Fire Department. The victim had succumbed to a heart attack.
His small basement apartment was very tidy. Upon the walls were tons of framed photos. Pieces of history from 1940s and ’50s baseball, hockey, entertainers, and horse racing. Certificates of gratitude from the North York Fire Department, the City of Toronto, and the pigeon racing club he belonged to after he retired. He had a very organized collection of 78 rpm records from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Ella, Fats Waller . . . and he had the turntables to play them. The last album he played was Frank Sinatra.
He was very well read. Books of history lined his bookshelves, with an emphasis on Ontario and especially Toronto history. His specialty was the Avro Arrow . . . the huge limited framed edition print on his bedroom wall reflected his interest. Maybe sometime, somewhere, he saw the world’s greatest plane fly. He was a huge supporter of our troops. An article from the Toronto Sun about the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion sat on his desk. Pictures of cops and firefighters were found here and there.
But as we found out, he had no next-of-kin. As the sergeant, it was my job to notify them. I had no one to visit, no one to see. No nieces or nephews, no sons or daughters. He was truly alone.
Satisfied with what I had seen, I left the detectives and constable on scene to await the coroner, and have the body removed to its final rest. As I walked down the driveway, the constable followed me out and said, “Hey Sarge, wait up! Can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Whatdya need?”
“Sarge, they’re gonna carry this guy out in a plastic bag. All the neighbours are watching. He was a firefighter for 30 years. Sarge he’s got no one . . . we can’t let him go like that. Can you find us a Canadian flag, so that when they take him out of the house, we can lay it on the gurney when they roll him to the hearse?”
7:30 on a Tuesday night. Where to find a flag? . . . Yup, the Dollar Store. The only thing open and, sure enough, they had one. Contrary to popular opinion, not everything at the dollar store costs one dollar. At this point, the cost was not really an issue. I bought the flag, and took it back to the scene.
The coroner released the body, and firefighter Robert Wilson was brought up from his apartment. Before he left the door, the flag was draped in its full glory across him, to honour the life of a man who was willing to give it at any time. For the 50 feet it took to take him to the removal vehicle, the neighbours watched in silent respect. The people from the funeral home tucked the flag secure and removed it with him. I expect it will be buried with him, too.
For a short time, the time it takes to walk a body 50 feet, he wasn’t alone. He was a firefighter, a hero. He was a Canadian. All it took was a flag to show it.
Maybe it’s time we find our heroes before their only honour comes from a dollar store.
Amy Dempsey
Grant Love
Fire Chief
CEMC
North Bay Fire & Emergency Services
705 474 0626 ext 4801
www.cityofnorthbay.ca
Thursday, September 30, 2010
So..what's happening...
Its been a very exciting few months with a huge growth in memberships and the decision to take some next steps.
We are launching our new website for October 12th to coincide with our radio interview with Live 88.5 in Ottawa. We are being featured on the Morning Show with Katfish and Dave. There is certainly becoming a buzz around our program and the good it has been doing for some of our members.
We are also seeing some considerable interest in our fundraising memberships program by organizations and associations, and we hope to soon have participation of one of these groups.
Please stay tuned, as I will post when our radio spot will air and keep visiting to see the new website.
Thanks for your continued support as we hunt for some new national partners.
Kind regards,
Pat McIntyre
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Another donation to a good cause
Thursday, August 26, 2010
finishing the summer on a high note
I just wanted to remind people that we are supported by yearly membership contributions, and if you are receiving the benefits of our negotiated Bell deal, your contribution should be easy to make.
We are doing very well with new members coming on board from the Maritimes to the West Coast. We have members from all over Ontario and are seeing some new ones from the mid west.
Please keep up the good work in spreading the word and we would be happy to contribute to those in emer services or health care who are experiencing a family medical crisis.
Hope you are looking forward to seeing the kids off to school. Well, with some mixed emotions as it was a great summer for us.
Kind regards,
Patrick
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Some changes to announce...
Stephanie, the kids and I have just returned from a great family vacation in the East Coast. We are catching up on memberships and trying to return to normal working life...It was a great trip for us as a family.
I hope your summer is going well too.
I wanted to up-date everyone on some changes to our program. A month or two ago, you might have noticed that we dropped a lot of our small vendor ads for the local area of Ottawa. This was maily due to our membership overwhelmingly seeking out the Bell offer and not using our member cards for very many of the other businesses.
This was necessary for a few reasons; first of all Stephanie and I had to spend a great deal of time visiting with each business (audit) to ensure new staff were accepting and recognizing the cards. As was not always the case and it really frustrated some members when trying to use their cards. It also took a lot of time to up-date and ensure ad info was accurate.
Our plan moving forward is to continue to add members and build a strong membership base to gain support from larger national vendors. Right now we have Bell Mobility for the best plan in Canada and Marks Work Wearhouse. But with a larger member pool, we can attract the attention of some great companies.
The revenue we are earning from memberships has been going towards members of our emergency services and health care communities in support of families experiencing a medical crisis. We are also supporting our website, admin costs and paying down our operational loans.
We appreciate your continued support and hope you can refer many friends and family to join our program and cause.
Kind regards,
Patrick McIntyre
Founder
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Brian Dyck (Ottawa Police) another donation
I managed to find a parking spot at the Canadian War Museum (not an easy task) the place was busy with many walkers supporting loved ones in the Walk for ALS taking place that morning. I was amazed at the spirit of the people involved all wearing T shirts emblazoned with their family or friends name.
I located a group of Brian's supporters and followed them into the theatre where an audience listened to speakers from Bob Rae to John Baird. I was happy to hear about the funds raised by the participants and the many local companies backing the campaign.
I was there to find Brian or his family to present a cheque from The 911 Network. I did manage to finally get close to Brian, but he was moving pretty fast in his electric wheel chair and his wife and child were running along side. I did manage to catch up and quickly hand Brian's wife a cheque for $250.00 from our membership. I told her that is was simply for them. There are times when we just need to help people directly and there are times to support the global charity.
It was a brief exchange and I never really did get a chance to meet Brian. I hope our support can benefit his family to a small degree.
Thanks again for your support of our program. It is making a difference.
Kind regards,
Pat