Day 2 - St. John's to Mt. Pearl

Good Evening!

Day 2 is in the books and it was another beauty out there. The wind picked up a bit, but the sun was shining bright trying to rival the smiles on all of our Medal-Bearer faces. Today we had some pretty amazing Meeting Points. I should probably explain a little about what a Meeting Point is first though. All of our selected Medal-Bearers are sent an email telling them where to meet our Relay staff. Our Hosts and Shuttle Drivers begin their Relay experience with an introduction and briefing session at one of these Meeting Points. Typically these will take place at a school, a community centre, a city hall, or some other community building that we have identified as being able to host a short meeting. Obviously we are looking to find locations that are fully accessible and can accommodate a good number of people as Medal-Bearers are encouraged to bring their family and friends. I thought I would share a couple stories from two of these Meeting Points that I attended.

McDonald's Activation - We have two primary sponsors on the Relay. They are McDonald's and Nike. These are the same two sponsors who supported Rick 25 years ago on the original Man In Motion World Tour and they have continued to be friends of the Foundation all these years. Nike supplies all of our Medal-Bearers with a pretty sweet Running outfit to wear during their segment. It consists of a bright yellow jacket, navy blue pants, and a blue and yellow touque (this item will be much more appreciated in January when we're feeling the bite of a -35C Moosejaw morning than it is on a 27C sunny August afternoon). So today we had a Meeting Point at a McDonald's restaurant and all the employees had signs that said 'We're With You Rick" (The McDonald's motto from 25 years ago). Ronald made an appearance as MC...one of the opnly mascots that talks...he's actually kinda creepy looking up close and I'm surprised so many kids wanted their picture taken with him. I was never afraid of clowns as a kid, but now that I'm grown up (well....let's not kid ourselves...now that I'm older), I can see their point. There was a display set up showing the Rick Hansen Medal alongside a pair of Rick's actual gloves that he wheeled with 25 years ago. (Did I take a picture of such a cool artifact for you...of course not...I'm not in full on "Blogger mode" just yet so I don't clue into these things...but I did get some pictures from McDonald's! Anyway, Rick made an appearance and said a few words and all the Medal-Bearers were very excited to shake his hand, share a few words, and have their pictures taken with him (take a backseat now Ronny..Rick is in the house!) An incredibly cool moment occurred though when McDonald's Canada pulled out a giant cheque...with an even bigger number written on it...a $2million donation to the Rick Hansen Foundation!! Wow! Not bad for Day 2 of a Relay that is designed as a celebration and awareness vehicle. Thank you McDonald's! In addition, Newfoundland hometown hero Brad Gushue (2006 Olympic Gold Medal Winner for Canada in Curling) was a Medal-Bearer at this Meeting Point (We drove on Brad Gushue Highway to get there too!)

Gloves from Rick's original Man In Motion World Tour

Wow! Not a bad start! Thank you McDonald's!

Mt. Pearl City Hall - At this Meeting Point we were given access to Council's chambers so all the Medal-Bearers could sit in big leather chairs and pretend they were knights at King Arthur's Round Table.....or city counselor's for the community of Mt. Pearl if they preferred I suppose. Well as part of the check in process, we ask to see a piece of identification to verify that they are in fact the Medal-Bearer they state they are. Well an elderly gentlemen strolled in to check in and when asked for his ID, he was taken aback a little and  said, "Wow, its been a loooong time since I was asked for ID in this building", our lovely host Kayla, being the quick witted young lady she is snappily replied, "Oh, why's that, are you the Mayor or something?", and gave a laugh. At this point, another Medal-Bearer who had been checking out his surroundings a little made a discovery on the wall and replied, "Well, if he hasn't got ID, maybe you'd accept this picture?" The three of them all turned around and yes....it appeared that this gentlemen was in fact the former long standing mayor and had a large portrait proudly displayed on the wall in City Chambers! haha. Relenting, Kayla made the executive decision to let this one slide by without showing ID. Naturally, I swiftly reprimanded her as wall hangings do not classify as "government issued" just because they were...well....issued by....uhhhhh....the municipal government. ;)

Wow, I CANNOT continue to make these things so long...I won't last! Don't worry, its only because this is all so new to me! :) I'm like...a "blogger" and stuff! WOO HOO!! and check it out.....PICTURES!!! (I write that without at all testing to see if I can actually figure out how to add a picture...but I'm going to attempt it right now. If you see a picture below (or anywhere for that matter) then we are making progress. We took a picture of Rick with Brad Gushue...but it was on a real camera (instead of my Blackberry), and well...downloading those requires a cord and some real technical savviness.....which I have used all mine up just getting this far. :)

Good Night from St. John's! Tomorrow....its off to Clarenville!

Oh, and I added some pictures to my Day 1 post as well.....learning stuff is fun! :)

Jonesy