Deaf for a Day Kingston.

Just a quick thanks to the Canadian Hearing Society for letting me be the honorary provincial chair for Hearing Awareness Month.
This past weekend I flew to Kingston for their event and it was great. (Except for banging my skull!)

I basically MC-ed the thing and interviewed the VIP's after they came back from having their hearing blocked and talked about the experience.
Meeting the nice peeps in Kingston was great and as always with this organization, I come away feeling better for having spent time with them.
The CHS is truly a great group and if you get a second you should definitely check them out.
I learned a lot about "listening" from being around so many Deaf people.

I want to tell you about one of the VIPs I met, Spike Hazelton.

He's the Base Commander at CFB Kingston and it turns out a former listener.
He went to school in Regina and heard me when I worked in Moose Jaw, many years ago.
He's a cool guy who happens to be in charge of some very brave and highly skilled people.
After the event he drove me back to the airport and we had a chance to talk.
He told me that he'll be going to Afghanistan in January and that he can't wait. He's already served in several other hot spots around the world and he's ready to take on another challenge.
It was amazing listening to him talk about our forces and the work we're doing over there. He
had some interesting things to say about PM Harpers visit last week,(he appreciated it) the Afghan troops and the recent tragic deaths of our soldiers.

It makes you proud and it sure puts things in perspective quickly.
I felt honored to be in his presence and I'll tell you he's pretty funny for a Base Commander. I mean the dude's nickname is Spike!