As I looked to a relatively quiet weekend on the local sports front and pondered content for the Thanksgiving Monday column, I couldn’t help but to be struck by the very essence of this particular holiday – and specifically how it dovetails into the sentiment that is at the very core of the work that I do, pretty much seven days a week.

How can one not give thanks when each and every day gives rise to a wonderful landscape of incredible stories to be told, all within an environment that remains every bit as much of a passion for this writer as it was more than twenty years ago when I first made the plunge from a career in banking to Sudbury Sports?

I give thanks pretty much daily for the entire spectrum of athletic involvement in this great city, the athletes, coaches, administrators and parents who allow me to meander happily from one event to the next, blessed with a child-like sense of excitement that is a function of the next interesting tale to be told.

For as much as a thousand word column does not come anywhere close to providing the space needed to individually thank all those who have contributed (and continue to do so) to engulfing myself in a setting where I pretty much never have to “work” another day in my life, I would be remiss in not sharing some random thoughts on those who remain particularly impactful.

And just to clarify: it’s not work when you love what you’re doing.

I give thanks for the entirety of the Sudbury high-school sports scene, with its incredibly expansive array of fascinating teenage athletes, some of whom might reach a degree of excellence, most whom will not, but all of whom seem so genuinely pleased to share their thoughts in what might well be the only post-game interview they will ever experience.

I give thanks for close friends and fellow sports nuts Dave Makela and Blaine Smith, both of whom were instrumental in the initial decision to leave the security of the financial industry to pursue an adventure rife with countless unknowns. While early challenges were unavoidable, it’s been far more than a decade in which I can look back with absolutely no regrets.

I give thanks for an incredible track & field and running community, for the pleasure of working alongside folks such as Darren Jermyn and Dick Moss, Vince Perdue and Robert Esmie, Colin Ward and Neil Phipps. Thankfully, the whole realm of athleticism is hardly the only discipline in Sudbury that features such genuinely nice and decent people.

I give countless thanks for my Sudbury Wolves penalty box partners in crime Todd Guthrie and Steve Mynerich, gentlemen who can make even the longest of OHL seasons an enjoyable and memorable experience. Truth be told, the entire array of game night regulars at the Old Barn on Elgin Street render what is supposed to be something of a job far more of a social outing.

I give thanks to Dario Zulich and the entire SWSE team. For as much as we might not agree on every single hockey-related move relating to our beloved Wolves, there is simply no questioning the level of care that this man and the folks who surround him share in trying to make Sudbury an better place to live (and hopefully provide countless moments to celebrate and remember).

Same holds true for all of my many friends with the Greater Sudbury Cubs and the NOJHL, with countless evenings at the Gerry McCrory Sports Complex filled with endless meandering to and fro, sharing smiles and laughter and all of those life updates that make living worthwhile.

I give most sincere thanks to all those who have been involved in the journey that is SportLink – Greater Sudbury Sport Council. It’s been a 20+ year trek that introduced me to the gem of a human being that is Lisa Kivinen, that allowed me to develop an incredible kinship and admiration for all that the late Dan Lee had to offer to this community – and that continues to grow through the efforts of Joanne Pendrak and Laura Young and so many other devoted volunteers.

As we near the passing of the torch, I give thanks for both Chris Sheridan, the man who remains the only reason why the pursuit of a Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame even continues to this day, and Joe Drago, a critical supporting ally whose energy to his hometown and dreams for what could be are absolutely boundless.

I give thanks to the Foligno clan, the First Family of Hockey in Sudbury. As I pen this very column, I cannot help but to note that it is a very similar sense of appreciation for all that we have been blessed with that drives every single interaction that Mike, Nick, Marcus and family enjoy with fellow Sudburians. They remain a glowing example of how to embrace success and leverage it for the good of many.

On an equal footing are the likes of Rebecca Johnston and Tracy Fleury, Derek MacKenzie and Erik Wohlberg, Caroline Ehrhardt and Cloe Lacasse, athletes who have excelled and never lost sight of their roots – and who gladly give of their time to maintain those Sudbury connections.

And they are but the tip of the iceberg.

I give thanks to all of those people who have devoted years of their life in pursuit of the betterment of Sudbury hockey. For as much as a gathering of Barry McCrory, Peter Michelutti (both Jr & Sr), Robert Mazzuca, Gus Lescault, Albert Corradini and those who have come and gone (Ken Creasey, Art Connor and the like) would never in a million years reach a common consensus, they have remained pillars upon whom I have relied heavily for help and information.

I give thanks to a local community of Sudbury sports media who help to keep it fun as we share thoughts and opinions and stories and wonder about all that comes our way in a single sporting calendar year.

I give thanks to the very special friendships with Denis Collin and Ken Campbell, two fellows at completely opposite ends of the sporting spectrum, and yet both of whom who continue to fill a role as confidantes and sounding boards for a writer whose silliness is an engrained personality trait.

And above all else, I give thanks to the entirety of my family, to parents who so believed in my love of sports - even as a clearly below-average athlete - and to three brothers who never go a month without convening on a Zoom call that is, quite honestly, a reality show waiting to happen.

I give endless thanks to our children – Kristyn, Mark and Stephanie – who somehow find a way to sprinkle just a touch of pride into their daily efforts to ensure that humility (or perhaps humliation – in a loving sense) prevails at the very heart of who I am.

To Mary-Ellen: words alone could never express the phenomenal thanks that I share for allowing me to pursue this dream and supporting my quirkiness every step of the way. It could not have ever happened wihout you – and for that, I am eternally grateful.

My life is a series of endless adventures – and I am but along for the ride.

(apologies to the hundreds not mentioned by name – the curling and volleyball folks, the hockey officials, the entire Eastlink family, my friends in Valley East – and on and on and on)