Aspen Lake resident, team members and Doug Gilmour
Kristian Partington

When you’re a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan living in Windsor, which in
Canada is the heart of Detroit Red Wings country, you tend to stick close to
like-minded Leafs fans.

This bond is as strong as can be in Stacey MacDonald-Price, a personal
support worker from the Village of Aspen Lake, and resident Cathy Giroux. So
it was no surprise that Stacey’s mission was clear almost immediately after
she met former Leafs captain Doug Gilmour.

Aspen Lake personal support worker Stacey MacDonald-Price captured the meeting of a lifetime on her mobile phone when die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan, Aspen Lake resident Cathy Giroux, met former Leafs captain Doug Gilmour.

Stacey and fellow Aspen Lake team member Tanya Hager were volunteering at the second annual Bob Probert Memorial Ride in downtown Windsor
June 24.

The location — the WFCU Centre — is a stone’s throw from Aspen Lake, where
Gilmour was on hand to support the fundraiser. After meeting Gilmour that
afternoon Stacey had no choice but to do everything she could to get Cathy
close to the man they both admire.

Stacey sent out a quick text message and minutes later Cathy was on her
motorized wheelchair heading for the WFCU Centre, where she waited patiently
as Stacey tried to navigate VIP access points and possible entrances and
exits where Gilmour might be at any given moment.

She was trying to place Cathy in the right place at the right time and kept
missing while Cathy grew more resigned to the fact her window of opportunity
might have closed.

Tanya’s determination, however, never wavered, and her next step was to
“conveniently acquire” the wrist bands needed to gain access behind the VIP
curtain.

With that mission accomplished, it was time to move. Cathy was soon in a
long corridor and there she sat, still resigned to her fate when she heard
Stacey’s voice dripping with the excitement of a long-awaited meeting.

“I turned around and here’s Dougie Gilmour; I turned 10 shades or red, oh
gosh, and I was all flustered,” Cathy says.

She joked about a black eye he was sporting, wished him a happy birthday she
knew was coming up, they hugged, he signed an autograph, and following a
snapshot on Stacey’s cell phone, the meeting of a lifetime ended.

A month later, as she tells the story, she still buzzes with exhilaration,
grateful to know the relationships she enjoys within the village allow for
memories like this to be created.

“It means a lot that somebody knows you that well to know that you would
treasure that moment,” she says.

Both Tanya and Stacey are rewarded in the knowledge that Cathy experienced
something so special.

“It was so exciting,” Stacey says. “When he came out, her hands were
shaking, she could barely get her hands on her purse to get a pen out; her
voice was shaking.”

Tanya, who isn’t a hockey fan, was nonetheless caught up in the excitement
of the moment and is proud to have helped forge a meaningful memory shared
among two loyal hockey fans.

If you have a story to share, please contact 800-294-0051, ext. 24, or e-mail kristian(at)axiomnews.ca.