Tuesday's With Dave

 The Tour of Olympia took Joy and I to Ottawa, a city we've loved since we attended University there, for what became a reunion moment that was priceless for us. The book signing was at Perfect Books, a gorgeous independent bookstore on Elgin Street.  Early in this part of my journey, I'm appreciating the fact that the book selling process is a way to get people together. I enjoyed reconnecting with people from my university days, including Olympia coaches Paul Armstrong and Rick Traer. Having missed being with him at camp for the last couple of summers, it was great  connecting with world champion Al Overwijk and his two awesome sons, who have blossomed since I saw them last. A huge part of the hero's journey  that we get to watch these young kids become young men.  A moment that meant a lot was when Dave Thomas, Dani Hawkins and their son Keegan came in. Keegan was playing in his last game of Rugby at Algonquin College, so the family made a weekend of it by coming to the

 Allies along the way. Sometimes you find them, sometimes they find you. No matter how, you need them Dave Grace is still in need of our help and you are encouraged to donate to the GoFundMe page. Here is the link so donate whatever you can.Thats what allies do.  https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-dave-grace?qid=5c5cb61bda7e7a50c39c845437491600   Speaking of allies, let me introduce you to the world of the independent bookstore. When I wrote Can't Miss: The Kevin Pangos Story I found an independent bookstore in Spokane Washington called Aunties bookstore. I dreamt while writing the book that someday my book would be for sale there. Doing better than that, when the book came out Kevin and I had an evening presentation in that very bookstore, and the place was jammed. I fell in love with the idea of independent bookstores. They know the grind of selling books and they have empathy for the grind that is writing books.  When I was looking for  place in Burlington to sell my books, I came

 The Burlington Book launch yesterday was a successful event, with family, friends and neighbours showing their support of this process and showing interest in the amazing stories in A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp. It was great to gather at Loch Side Restaurant and to share the motivation behind the book and the fun it will be to share this process with others. Two highlights I would like to share. First of all, I invited my MP, Karina Gould. She contacted me to tell me she was unable to attend and that her assistant would be dropping by. She came right at the beginning and gave me a Certificate of Achievement from the House of Commons, recognizing local authors. Pretty cool stuff. It was much appreciated for Karina to do this. Here are Joy and I with the certificate. The other highlight will be more lasting. Joy and I had gone around putting up announcements about the upcoming book launch. One of the places we put one up was in the local library. Fi

 The official Book Launch for A Hero's Journey: Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp  at Olympia was awesome. It was an Olympia reunion and lots of books sold. The reunion was more important, and lasting. And by the way, the colours were unreal.  When Joy and I decided to have the official launch at the site where the stories in this book took place, we had no real idea how much fun it was going to be and how much emotion would come out. For this we have to thank the support of Krista Scobie, daughter of Ottawa coaching legend and Olympia coach John Scobie and the Petrushchak family. Yes, they were there to  support me and the book, and to  honour Dave Grace, but it was so much more. There is nothing more priceless than standing around a campfire ( too cold to sit) and just telling stories, making toasts, and reflecting on the memories. People you just met become family.  Three of the four Petrushchak ( for future reference the spelling is easy. Pet Rush chak) girls were th

With the excitement of the book launch at Olympia this weekend I regret having to send you the following.  Dear members of the Olympia Family   Calling on the legions of Olympians who feel a close attachment to the land of Interlaken, and a kinship with Dave Grace, the architect of so much success in many of our lives.   Dave Grace urgently needs our help, and he is fighting for the future of Olympia Sports Camp. After struggling for two years because of COVID, a business agreement was made to support the camp through this period.  The terms of this agreement are now in dispute and litigation is required. The outcome of this litigation will impact the operations and ownership of the Camp.    The litigation process will cost Dave $100,000 immediately. Dave cannot use money in the Camp’s account to fund the legal costs for this process.    Simply put, if this money is not raised by Dave’s friends and family by October 16, 2022, Dave believes that the future of Olympia Sports Camp is at r

 On any journey there are a million steps, a million moments, that impact the journey's destination. The journey of A Hero's Journey:Beyond Little Norway and Olympia Sports Camp is and has been an awesome process that is now heading into yet another new path.  With the official book launch at Olympia and another one in my home town of Burlington on the horizon, and with the Tour Of Olympia to follow shortly, I want to take this breath to say that the support of those around you is incredibly needed. The whole journey is made a lot more fun and gratifying by the allies along the path. The commitment of the people of Olympia, and the humility of the people who contributed to the content of the book, have obviously been huge factors, but on any journey, there's nothing bigger and better than family. Thanks for everything. OFFICIAL BOOK LAUNCH SUNDAY OCT 9     2-4 PM REC HALL  OLYMPIA SPORTS CAMP LIMBERLOST ROAD, INTERLAKEN,ONTARIO BURLINGTON BOOK LAUNCH SUNDAY OCT 16