'Mr. Hockey' Gordie Howe visit a 'once-in-a-lifetime' experience

BY JOHN DECOSTE

The Advertiser/NovaNewsNow.com

For hockey fans of pretty much all ages, there probably wouldn’t be a much bigger thrill than meeting ‘Mr. Hockey,’ Gordie Howe.

With that in mind, a group made up of mostly local people has joined forces to bring the hockey legend to the Valley as the special headline guest for Thursday’s 10th anniversary Acadia Hockey Celebrity Dinner.

“We wanted to help the Axemen celebrate by bringing in as big a name as we could afford, and when you’re talking hockey, Gordie Howe is as big as it gets,” says Ken Barrett of the New Minas-based Barrett Group, one of those whose financial donations made Howe’s visit possible.

Other investors include Dennis Vial and Darryl Plandowski of Aqua Valley Water in Port Williams, the Halifax law firm Boyne-Clarke and an individual donor who prefers to remain anonymous. Vial is a former NHL player, and Plandowski an NHL scout.

“I’m a huge hockey fan and a huge Axemen fan – in fact, a huge fan of all the Acadia teams,” said Barrett, a 1991 Acadia graduate.

“It was admittedly a little bit out of our comfort zone financially, but you’ll only get Gordie Howe once, especially at his age.” Howe will turn 80 next March 31.

Barrett noted that none of the investors has any personal connection with Gordie Howe, other than being aware of his legendary status.

“Acadia has a core group of supporters who helps out with all their fundraising,” he said. “We contacted them, they contacted Gordie’s agent, and it went from there.”

To Barrett, the chance to have local people, and especially the youngsters, meet Gordie Howe, and have someone of his status visit our area, is well worth the investment.

“We want people to be able to take away good memories from the experience,” he said. “I know I’m really looking forward to it, both personally and for my own two boys. He’s a phenomenal athlete and a phenomenal person.”

Howe will be in our area all day on Thursday. Between 1:30 and 3 p.m., he will be at Summit Hyundai in New Minas, where he will drop the puck for a ball hockey game between two teams of local youngsters.

Howe’s entire visit, and in particular his appearance at the dinner that evening, “will hopefully provide a lot of people with a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Barrett said. “It’s nice to show people, and especially the kids, that our heroes are real people.”

The local chapter of Campaign for Kids will hopefully also benefit from Howe’s visit, as he will attend a charity barbecue for that organization, also planned for Thursday.