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31 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,January 17,2019 insidehalton.com Abbey Park High School celebrated the memory of librarian, teacher and coach Bob Hepburn with two alumni hockey games just before Christmas. Hepburn suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 58 last June. While he worked at Ab- bey Park, Hepburn was al- so the assistant coach of the senior boys hockey team. Players paid $10 to take part in the alumni game, with proceeds do- nated to the Big Brothers Big Sisters Federation, where Hepburn volun- teered. Fans were also en- couraged to donate. Larry Rinaldo, current head coach of the Abbey Park Eagles boys hockey team, said a lot more play- ers showed up than he ex- pected, resulting in more than $1,000 raised by the players themselves. "He meant everything. He was always there, sup- portive, whenever you needed something," Alex Hayami, a former Eagle, said. "Whether it was just in the school or on any of the sports teams, he was al- ways the go-to person to talk to. He was just a big support for anyone who needed it." Hepburn, who donated a kidney to a family friend and bone marrow to a stranger, was the president of the Oakville Hornets Girls Hockey Association for several years. He and wife Nancy fos- tered abandoned dogs. Hepburn also coached the Appleby Park boys foot- ball and rugby teams and led the school's equity ini- tiatives as an ally of the LGBTQ2 community. "He pretty much dedi- cated all of his spare time helping out all the students at Abbey Park," said for- mer Eagles player Michael Hickey. Rinaldo recalled that when he filled in for Hep- burn as a teacher in the li- brary, students would be disappointed to see "Mr. Hepburn" wasn't in that day. "From the anime club to the quarterback of the foot- ball team, it was just every one of them that he made feel so, so comfortable," Ri- naldo said. At the beginning of each alumni game, players and spectators stood for a mo- ment of silence in memory of Hepburn. The first game was made up of current Eagles players and recent alumni, with Bob's Blue Blazers facing off against Hep- burn's High Flyers. The second game, Bob's Band of Brother against Hepburn's Heroes, was made up of old- er alumni, including three players who played for the team more than a decade ago. Games were played at the Glen Abbey Communi- ty Centre, the Eagles' home rink. Grade 12 Abbey Park student Matthew Hipple was a large part of the event's success, said Rinal- do. "Mr. Hepburn's legacy is he's inspired some people to help organize things," said Rinaldo in reference to Hipple, who created a Face- book page to spread the word of the event, played in the first game, refereed the second game and helped create the teams. Prior to the event, Hep- burn's family was on hand as the school unveiled a plaque at the recently re- named Bob Hepburn Me- morial Library during the school's annual variety show. Hickey said Hepburn meant a lot to all of the stu- dents. "I think his legacy is probably just going to be about being a good person. Everyone knew Hepburn as a guy you wanted to know, a guy you wanted to be somebody in your life." COMMUNITY ABBEY PARK EAGLES PAST AND PRESENT SALUTE COACH HEPBURN 2 HOCKEY GAMES IN HONOUR OF POPULAR TEACHER WHO DIED LAST JUNE LARA KUIPERS Abbey Park High School alumni (from left) Michael Hickey, Colin Semple and Brad Currier were three of dozens of current and former students taking part in the second of two tribute games honouring their high school hockey coach Bob Hepburn, who died last June. Lara Kuipers/photo Halton Healthcare is seeking new and enthusi- astic volunteers to join each of its three communi- ty hospitals - Milton Dis- trict, Oakville Trafalgar Memorial and George- town. Halton Healthcare hos- pitals have a wide variety of volunteer roles avail- able, including working di- rectly with patients and visitors, and crucial be- hind-the-scenes support. "Volunteers enhance the care of our patients, families and visitors, andfamilies and visitors, andf are integral members of our health care teams," said Sharon Norris, vice president, human resourc- es planning and organiza- tional development. "We are grateful to this extraor- dinary group of people for all they do in living our val- ues of compassion, ac- countability and respect every day." Volunteers help to cre-Volunteers help to cre-V ate a truly patient and fam- ily-centred care environ- ment and experience. While specific roles may vary among hospitals, vol- unteers play a vital part in the following key areas: • directing visitors • assisting at the bed- side • preparing materials behind the scenes • running the gift shops • providing additional support to many other pro- grams and initiatives Those looking for an op- portunity to make a differ- ence in their community and have an interest in helping others are asked to apply at haltonhealth- care.on.ca/volunteer. NEWS HALTON HEALTHCARE SEEKING VOLUNTEERS AT ALL 3 HOSPITALS