Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
"City company made medals for winners" - Daily Gleaner article
By HEATHER MCLAUGHLIN
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Fifty-one-year-old Keith Fagan has a distinct advantage over his Special Olympian competitors - he's had an up-close glimpse of the gold.
Aitkens Pewter made the medals for the upcoming Special Olympics Provincial Winter Games. Above, at the Aitkens Pewter plant, showing off the gold, silver and bronze medals, are, from left: Marty Forsythe, chairman of the Special Olympics games; Keith Fagan, Special Olympian in floor hockey; and Martin Aitken, owner of Aitkens Pewter.
The floor hockey competitor doesn't hesitate to state his ambition to wear one of the pewter-based, gold-coated, green-enamelled medallions up for grabs at the upcoming New Brunswick Special Olympics.
"I hope to win," he said, as he eyed the finished medallion cast at the industrial park workshop of Aitkens Pewter of Fredericton. "I hope I get that gold. I'm going to give it my whatever."
A defenceman on his 16-member Fredericton-area team, Fagan will be joined by 215 other Special Olympians from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
He's been practising every Monday and is running, jogging and doing pushups weekly to be ready. He said he's going to bring an entourage of supporters to cheer him on when he faces his opponents.
Business owner Martin Aitken designed and had his staff cast the medals for the event, and he hasn't stinted on design or finish in creating his gift for the athletes.
Aitken designed the medals for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, and his wares have been given as gifts to visiting royalty.
"One of the things that struck me about the (Special Olympics) Winter Games here in Brunswick is that it more truly follows the true sense of the Olympics - volunteers getting together, athletes simply doing their best with what's available," Aitken said. "We want to design something that was truly unique for the games ... I hope when an athlete leaves with one of our awards that they'll feel that they are leaving with something that is Olympic class, not something that's purchased out of a catalogue."
The 300 bronze, silver and gold medals his company has produced incorporate the logo of the games and the green shading reflects the signature colour of the event.
Marty Forsythe, chairman of the New Brunswick Special Olympics, said figure skating, speed skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, floor hockey and curling make up the event. Individual and pairs events are included in the games, which open Thursday with competitions on Feb. 4-6. Closing ceremonies are Sunday.
New Brunswick last hosted the games in 2003 with the assistance of Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. Athletes this year will again be housed and fed on base and athletes will have the use of the military's arena, curling rink and gym.
"Each year we have games that go to the nationals that go to the worlds," Forsythe said.
Rosalind Fagan, volunteer co-ordinator for the event, said almost 100 volunteers help host the event, from military personnel to Oromocto High School students to University of New Brunswick nurses.
"Oromocto has just taken it right on and been wonderful and the base as well," Fagan said.
The event is a huge deal for the competitors because it allows them to qualify for national and world competition.
The games are hosted through a combination of fundraising, donations of goods and services and sponsorships. Those gifts and the $68,000 in cash it takes to run the event would probably push the total cost of hosting Olympians to $200,000, said Forsythe.
mclaughlin.heather@dailygleaner.com
Fifty-one-year-old Keith Fagan has a distinct advantage over his Special Olympian competitors - he's had an up-close glimpse of the gold.
Aitkens Pewter made the medals for the upcoming Special Olympics Provincial Winter Games. Above, at the Aitkens Pewter plant, showing off the gold, silver and bronze medals, are, from left: Marty Forsythe, chairman of the Special Olympics games; Keith Fagan, Special Olympian in floor hockey; and Martin Aitken, owner of Aitkens Pewter.
The floor hockey competitor doesn't hesitate to state his ambition to wear one of the pewter-based, gold-coated, green-enamelled medallions up for grabs at the upcoming New Brunswick Special Olympics.
"I hope to win," he said, as he eyed the finished medallion cast at the industrial park workshop of Aitkens Pewter of Fredericton. "I hope I get that gold. I'm going to give it my whatever."
A defenceman on his 16-member Fredericton-area team, Fagan will be joined by 215 other Special Olympians from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
He's been practising every Monday and is running, jogging and doing pushups weekly to be ready. He said he's going to bring an entourage of supporters to cheer him on when he faces his opponents.
Business owner Martin Aitken designed and had his staff cast the medals for the event, and he hasn't stinted on design or finish in creating his gift for the athletes.
Aitken designed the medals for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, and his wares have been given as gifts to visiting royalty.
"One of the things that struck me about the (Special Olympics) Winter Games here in Brunswick is that it more truly follows the true sense of the Olympics - volunteers getting together, athletes simply doing their best with what's available," Aitken said. "We want to design something that was truly unique for the games ... I hope when an athlete leaves with one of our awards that they'll feel that they are leaving with something that is Olympic class, not something that's purchased out of a catalogue."
The 300 bronze, silver and gold medals his company has produced incorporate the logo of the games and the green shading reflects the signature colour of the event.
Marty Forsythe, chairman of the New Brunswick Special Olympics, said figure skating, speed skating, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, floor hockey and curling make up the event. Individual and pairs events are included in the games, which open Thursday with competitions on Feb. 4-6. Closing ceremonies are Sunday.
New Brunswick last hosted the games in 2003 with the assistance of Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. Athletes this year will again be housed and fed on base and athletes will have the use of the military's arena, curling rink and gym.
"Each year we have games that go to the nationals that go to the worlds," Forsythe said.
Rosalind Fagan, volunteer co-ordinator for the event, said almost 100 volunteers help host the event, from military personnel to Oromocto High School students to University of New Brunswick nurses.
"Oromocto has just taken it right on and been wonderful and the base as well," Fagan said.
The event is a huge deal for the competitors because it allows them to qualify for national and world competition.
The games are hosted through a combination of fundraising, donations of goods and services and sponsorships. Those gifts and the $68,000 in cash it takes to run the event would probably push the total cost of hosting Olympians to $200,000, said Forsythe.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
'Tis the Season to Save the Legion
Tis the season to help the legion.Entitled just that, Oromocto High teacher Maxine MacConnell’s 120 World Issues class is embarking on a special fundraiser for something close to everyone’s hearts.
The Oromocto High School teacher suggested that, as they were studying world villages, why not do something for their own village, in particularly the Oromocto Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 93.
The students all wholeheartedly agreed and a two pronged fundraising campaign is now underway. All proceeds will be given to the Oromocto legion for their rebuilding fund.
Melissa Ward, of Gagetown, and Bailee Macpherson think the idea of raising money for the legion is one the whole school and entire community should get involved in.
They both decided to take the World Issues because it would be interesting to learn more about what’s going on in the world and are now getting an extra lesson in what’s going on right here at home.
“We don’t see some of the stuff that’s happening Asia, some of the stuff in Africa,” Ward said. “We talked about global villages and Miss. MacConnell said it’s great to look at the global aspect but sometimes you have to look at the local aspects.” So they decided to collect Canadian Tire money, purchase gift cards with it and sell tickets on the gift cards.
After one week of fundraising, they’re halfway to their $1,000 by Remembrance Day goal. They want to present a cheque to the legion members who will be participating in their Nov. 10 Remembrance Day service at the school and keep the campaign going until Christmas.
“I’m not from Oromocto but I know my family is in the military and [I] see the whole aspect of the legion being taken away and how much it affects the community and how it affects the military community,” Ward said.
She had spent a lot of time there during Christmas parties, anniversary parties and other celebrations; it’s sad and the legion facility is missed. “I was in cadets and we would go there and see where our group’s affiliation was from and what they did and now you can’t,” Ward said. Macpherson said she was hoping to learn more of what was going on in the world around her but this project has taught her so much more.
“I think it’s a good fundraiser and I also think that the community will get really involved with it because it is such a ‘community’ town,” she said. “Most of the fundraisers hat have been happening around the school have been for third world countries that are still developing but we chose to do something local because it is something in all of our hearts.”
“My dad is in the military and he’s a huge part of my life so it was a disaster to see him really upset about what happened and that just motivated me even more to do something,” she said.
They’re excited to see the results of their effort. “I just can’t wait to see everybody’s faces when it’s finally rebuilt,” Macpherson said.
MacConnell said her students have embraced this project and are putting 100 per cent effort into their cause.
“I’m really proud of them,” she said. “They have taken one small idea that I had, brainstormed, and they came up with so many ideas that I was just overwhelmed.”
They condensed those ideas, decided on what they could do to include the school and the community and have run with it.
“Aitkens Pewter has come on board to make the ornaments,” MacConnell said. “For them to help us out in that way is tremendous. They came to us. The owner emailed me and said ‘I want to get involved’.
”The ornaments will be $10 each and $5 of every sale will go to the legion rebuilding fund. The other $5 will going towards the cost of the ornaments.
“The design is something they can use again but we’re the first to use this design; they created it especially for us,” MacConnell said. A donation box is also located at the Bargain! Shop in the Oromocto mall and the amount raised there will be added to the Remembrance Day cheque.
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Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
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