I would like to start by telling you a story I recently received on my e-mail. It's about an atheist who went for a walk in the woods. It was a beautiful day so the atheist went for a walk in the woods to admire nature. When in deep meditation he suddenly saw a bear coming towards him. He ran for his life and just when he was about to enter a safe haven he tripped and fell.

The bear stood over him and was about to kill him when the atheist yelled out "Oh God".

A loud voice answered "Yes my son".

The bear stopped growling and the atheist realized something supernatural was happening.

He yelled back, "Oh God I am an atheist please make the bear a Christian".

The loud voice answered "Yes my son".

The bear crossed his paws and started to pray.

The atheist thought this must be what they call a miracle and then he heard the bear pray, "Dear Lord bless this food I am about to eat".

First of all I would like to thank the Board and the organizing committee for asking me to be the guest speaker today. I consider this to be a great honor and a privilege.

Before I begin my speech I would like to pay tribute to all those who contributed to the growth of the Foundation, to those members who 45 years ago had the vision and the dedication to begin this Foundation and to the generosity of all those who contributed to the Foundation for so many years.

A special tribute goes to the many volunteers who devote many hours of their valuable time to make sure that organizations such as the Father Jean Foundation is not only sustained but continues to develop and grow. The value of their essential work cannot be underestimated.
I will refer to a section of a speech made by Father John Walsh, a friend of mine, when he spoke at one of the volunteer parties held every year in April. This year the volunteer week will be celebrated the week of April 19 to April 25. We set aside a week every year because the volunteers are the motor of our society and they are the forgotten heroes.

He started by saying that he will give a test to all those who attended the banquet. He didn't want answers but everyone was asked to retain what they could answer. He asked

1. "Do you remember who won the Grey Cup three years ago".
2. "Do you remember who won the Stanley cup three years ago".
3. "and What about the Oscar award who won the best actor, best picture, etc.

Please answer the questions in your own mind. But, on the other hand, do you remember the teacher that influenced your attitude and made a change in your life? What about the friend that reached out to you in difficult times, the family member that came to your support when you needed help? These individuals we will always remember.

Our community would have nothing if not the commitment and dedication of the many volunteers. We all thank you and we will remember you.

I would like to focus my attention on the recipients of the Father Jean Foundation. A special tribute goes to you and this is your special day. I was told to focus on giving you advise for your future. I had a 30 page speech all completed when I remembered a speaker, at my graduation many years ago, who started his address by saying, " I will not give you any advise because advise is given by the old who cannot do it anymore to the young who do not want to do it". He then preceded an hour speech filled with advice. I don't want to make the same mistake so I will be focusing on some of the things that helped me in my career.

FATHER JEAN

My niece's daughter, Melania, told me that the recipients and most members have good knowledge of the story of Father Jean. It would be pretentious of me to refer to this subject when I know very little of his many contributions and achievements. I remember that he was the one who was instrumental in the acquisition of "Camp Ukraine" where I spent wonderful summers as a child and a teen-ager. What memories!

I will take some time to mention two important items about Father Jean. Yes he was a great contributor and a supporter of the Ukrainian people. But we till today refer to him as Father Jean not Ivan or other names. He was a French Canadian that came from a family of nine from Rimouski and adopted the Ukrainian identity without ever loosing his own identity.

My father would tell me that "to determine where you want to go in the future you must be clear on first where you come from and where you are now and only then can you plan your future".

The second item about Father Jean is his short stature. It is a personal observation. I have a picture of him and Peter Shesko, who was then 16 years old. This is proof that he was great but also short. That helps me.

IDEAS THAT HELP ME IN TIMES OF WORRY OR DEPRESSIONS

A) When I get depressed when I review my performance I remember the French saying;

" Quand je me regard, je me désole mais quand je me compare, je me console". When I evaluate myself I get depressed but when I compare myself I am consoled.

When we analyze our actions we know all the intricate details of our behavior and all its defects but the outside world has a different perception.

Are you aware of the fact that I am shaking in my boots?

B) At times we are all faced with difficult problems to solve, what helps me is the following statement:

Life is filled with wonderful opportunities beautifully disguised as major and unsolvable problems.

Sometimes there are big problems. We must decide if there are any opportunities with the challenges or is it a real problem. We tend to focus on the crisis before us and neglect to recognize any opportunities in the crisis?

C) A sheik once told us the following "You North Americans often keep hitting your head against the wall when all you have to do is step back and realize that the door is right next to where you were hitting the wall".

Sometimes stepping back and taking the time to reflect makes a big difference. We are living in a world that wants instant solutions. This adds pressures and often forces us to make fast decisions that focus on immediate short-term goals that could create future failures or even disasters. Take your time.

IDEALISM

At the beginning of my career I had a disagreement with my supervisor, I did not want to follow her advice. She was a wise and experienced professional. After a while she asked me was I so stubborn. I answered that it was my idealism that forced me to insist on my position. She told me "You are not an idealist. You have energy, initiative and ambition. You work hard and you hunger for knowledge and this I admire in you. But you will only gain idealism in fifteen or twenty years when the systems will impede you in your achievements, your colleagues will be against you, and the clients will forget all the good you have done. If after all that, you continue to have the same ambitious, initiative and energy to continue your dreams, it is only then you could claim that you have achieved idealism".

I remember these remarks till today. When I am faced with challenges and I want to quit, this short intervention of my first supervisor keeps me going. Never let anyone take your dreams away from you. They are easily sustained when times are good but only a few could maintain them in difficult times.

THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING

It is human nature to focus on the negative things. It is surprising how one incident could spoil a good friendship, create family disunity and ruin marriages.

We could go to a restaurant three hundred times and have wonderful meals. But if the chef misses on one, we unfortunately will place emphases on the one miss and forget about the many good meals.

In life we should go back and remember the many good times we have and compare them to the occasional challenges or great hurts.

PLACING EMPHASIS ON THE POSITIVE

A young intern in orthopedic surgery together with his nine friends saw a young man walk into the room on one leg. Nine interns asked the young man how had he lost his leg. Only one asked him what could he do with the other.

That is what I call a positive approach. I still remember the time when I was interviewed for a job or a contract and as usual the question of my weaknesses came up. This is quite a standard question but I certainly did not want to discuss my weaknesses that day so after thinking of a answer this was my response " Do you know that in all my experience as a manager I never hired anyone for their weaknesses".

Please don't try this when you will be interviewed for a job because it didn't go over very well with the selection committee, but I felt good.

Before my wife died I was reading a book written by the Dalai Lama. In one of the paragraphs he mentioned that, we in North America, stress the idea to not suppress our emotions, and we should not. He goes on to say that many individuals, consider this to be an excuse or a way that legitimizes negative or destructive behaviour It could be turned into a positive experience, not that the hurts will go away, but it could be a developmental process. I now place emphasis on the fact that I was very privileged to have had a wonderful and loving partner for 42 years. What a gift.

VALUE OF EDUCATION

When I was doing one of my workshops a colleague asked me what my education gave me. Initially he put me on the spot, but after thinking about it for a while I answered " Education made me comfortable with my ignorance because I now know what others know and there are things still to be discovered".

Education is only a key that opens doors for you and it certainly is important but we should realize it is only the beginning. When I was asked to speak to a graduating class of those who completed their Masters degrees I knew that the last thing they needed was another lecture. I wanted to use the opportunity to make an impact in my five-minute speech and to make sure that they would remember something. I didn't want to waste my time or theirs. I proceeded to say the following, "Congratulations. You have completed an equivalent of a two week skiing course. I have yet to see someone after that course climb and start from the professional hill. It requires practice, (experience), conditioning each year (professionally this a requirement to constantly upgrade our skills through ongoing education) and skill, not everyone can do everything we all have special talents and these we must maximize.

Some of you will reach the professional hill in no time some will never go beyond the intermediate hill and others could remain at the beginners' hill and stay there. It should take three to five years before you can discover whether your key opened the right door or not.

When I think of youth today it reminds me of a statement made many years ago. "Youth today lack respect for authority, lack commitment and the ability to be dedicated, and have little morality." Does that sound familiar; do you know who made that statement? That was Aristotle a famous philosopher who lived from 384 to 322 B.C. This statement is repeated every generation but the youth of every generation contribute to the future in a very special way. You have many more challenges facing you. You are facing a very competitive and constantly changing society. In my days individuals had to choose one job and this was for a lifetime. If you changed too often it was considered as a sign of instability today change means that you have ambition and you want different experiences. Many of you will have not one, but a few careers in your lifetime. To get ahead learning is a lifetime commitment. I feel confident in my future because it is in your hands.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT- MOTHER THERESA

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies,
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you,
Be honest anyway.
What you spend years building, someone may try to destroy overnight,
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness they may be jealous,
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow,
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

I would like to congratulate all the recipients and wish them all the success in the future. To the youth of today I say find your place and continue the good work. We trust you and believe that we are in good hands. To the volunteers supporters and contributors a special thank you.

Good luck and let us enjoy ourselves.