The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 18 ,2 01 8 | 42 Shawn Wood has a cer- tain spot where he stands near the bench at George- town Raiders home games. For years, "Woodsy" as he's affectionately called, has been assisting the team with water, equipment and making sure to "fire the boys up sometimes." Last year, standing in that spot, watching the puck slide into the net in the winning game for the Buckland Cup was his proudest moment on the bench. "Watching us get the win in our building, in front of our fans, it was amazing," he said. Wood is one of the lon- gest serving members of the Raiders and this year, has been chosen by the Hal- ton Hills Chamber of Com- merce as Employee of the Year. Woods has been work- ing for the Real Canadian Superstore in Georgetown for over 21 years, working in the front end of the store and parking lot. "It's almost like working with hockey, it's all team- work," said Wood. "I figure if you do something nice for somebody, they do some- thing nice back for you." As a long-standing fix- ture of Georgetown's hock- ey scene and community, Wood says he's honoured to be given the award. "I played hockey when I was a little guy," said Wood, who grew up in George- town, attending Harrison Public School, Centennial Middle School and W.C. Drury in Milton. "Working with the guys gets me still involved with hockey." He says that hockey is a special sport in George- town. "We're the home of the little NHL," he said. "Little kids see you wearing Georgetown Raiders stuff and they say hi to you." According to Raider's head athletic trainer, An- drew Groombridge - it's not just kids on the street say- ing hi. "He greets everybody," said Groombridge, adding that even at the Superstore residents know Wood be- cause he always makes sure to say hello. "Every team has got to have a Shawn Wood," said the trainer, who remem- bers Wood being with the team even 19 years ago when he came to George- town. Wood has a contagious energy cheering during games, and an encyclope- dic memory of sports knowledge. Wood can remember players from the team over a decade ago, which num- ber they wore and more. "He even remembers where they sat in the dress- ing room," said Groom- bridge. The chamber of com- merce is awarding Wood at a gala celebration on Wednesday Oct. 17. "I've worked so much all of my life," said Wood, who was a special needs student in school. "I tell the kids they can do what they want to do in life, just follow your dreams, keep going." NEWS Shawn Wood is the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce Employee of the year. Alexandra Heck/Metroland MEET SHAWN WOOD: HALTON HILLS' EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR ALEXANDRA HECK aheck@metroland.com SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA CELEBRATING OUR NEWEST STORE! UP TO 50% OFF STOREWIDE FOR A LIMITED TIME $500 OFF TEMPUR-PEDICMATTRESS SETS www.ashleyhomestorecambridge.ca 2450 Eagle Street North Cambridge 184 Lynden Road Brantford ONLY AT NEW 389 Woodlawn Road West Guelph ASHLEY HOMESTORE