Star Mechanical Edmonton Supports Special Olympics Alberta Floor Hockey Team

Edmonton, AB – Star Mechanical Edmonton showed its support for the Alberta floor hockey team at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games held in Calgary from February 27 to March 2. The business unit provided a donation as part of the Special Olympics Canada Draft an Athlete program to help eight floor hockey players compete at the Games.

Brian Yaremchuk, Manager, Star Mechanical Edmonton, said the company is always looking for ways to support organizations and community initiatives.

“We thought this would be a wonderful way of giving back to an organization full of volunteers and hard-working athletes,” said Brian. “Participating in the draft means we are helping individual players with the expenses incurred so they can enjoy the experience of a country-wide competition, and we are encouraging the whole team to do their best at the Games.”

Jason Gillow, Estimator, Star Mechanical Edmonton, has been coaching Special Olympics on and off for around 24 years and was one of three coaches who attended the Games with his team. He approached Brian about the Draft an Athlete program to see if Star Mechanical Edmonton would be interested in supporting the athletes.

“My floor hockey team was fortunate enough to win the provincial games last year in their division, and as a result, they were picked to represent Alberta at the Games,” said Jason. “When I brought up the Draft an Athlete program to Brian, he jumped at the opportunity to help out.”

To show their appreciation for the generous donation, the team presented jerseys during a visit to the Star Mechanical Edmonton office, which Brian said was a meaningful experience.

“I feel honoured to be able to give back and support organizations and communities like this,” he said. “Seeing the smiles and how thankful the athletes were was priceless. In the future, we will be there for them if asked and we wish them all the luck in the world to do well at the Special Olympics.”

Jason said that the support from Star Mechanical Edmonton has meant everything to him and his athletes at a very important time.

“To have people supporting us shows the team that people do care and are willing to step forward and help out such a great cause,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to win gold in our division, but at the end of the day, I just want my guys to have a fantastic experience and enjoy the moment.”

Congratulations to Jason and his team for their great play and for winning the silver medal at this year’s Special Olympics Canada Winter Games!