The night will celebrate achievement in sport. Given that fact, organizers of the Fan the Flame Awards Banquet and Gala couldn't have found a more fitting keynote speaker than Catriona Le May Doan.
As a long track speed skater, Le May Doan won a pair of Olympic gold medals and one bronze. At the world championships, she powered her way to five gold, two silver and four bronze medals. Le May Doan also established herself as a World Cup champion and was handed the 2002 Lou Marsh Award as Canada's athlete of the year.
The Fan the Flame banquet - hosted by PacificSport Northern B.C. - happens Thursday night at the Civic Centre. Le May Doan will be in the spotlight with her Power of Sport speech and will also present Rising Star and 2015 Canada Winter Games Difference Maker awards.
Le May Doan was introduced to speed skating in her hometown of Saskatoon when she was just a kid - age nine or 10, by her recollection. Sport has - and continues to be - a central part of her life so she is perfectly suited to speak on the topic.
"My message is that sport shapes us not only the way we think it will," said Le May Doan, who claimed her first Olympic gold medal (500-metre distance) in Nagano in 1998 and, later in those Games, added a bronze in the 1,000m race. In 2002 in Salt Lake City, she repeated as the gold-medallist in the 500 and, in the process, became the first-ever Canadian athlete to defend an Olympic championship.
"The Olympics and my success at the Olympics has opened some doors - I've worked hard at it - but how sport has changed me is more the inspiration side, the experiences that have shocked me in a good way," she continued. "When I think back about my best memories, the Olympics are beautiful and amazing but those aren't the first things that come to mind. I think reminding people that sport is powerful whether you're an athlete, a coach, a fan, a volunteer - whatever it is - it can change people and it can change communities."
It's no coincidence the Fan the Flame banquet is being held at the one-year-anniversary mark of the 2015 Canada Winter Games. The multi-sport and cultural event hosted by Prince George will long leave its mark on the city and its residents - from improved sporting venues that will benefit generations of athletes to come, to the ability to host future national and international competitions, to the polished reputation Prince George now has in the eyes of the rest of Canada.
The banquet - with Le May Doan's keynote address as the centrepiece - will celebrate Prince George's successful hosting of the 2015 Canada Winter Games and the transformative impact they have had on the community. Le May Doan has been spreading the word about the positive developments here, especially the ways in which the Games are being kept alive. Included in those ways is the Fan the Flame banquet itself.
"I've been talking up what Prince George is doing, to everybody in Calgary," said Le May Doan, who lives in southern Alberta's Olympic city (Winter Games, 1988) and just accepted a position there with Sport Calgary. "I think keeping that spirit of what sport has done in (Prince George) and can continue to do is incredible."
Le May Doan retired from competition in 2003 and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2005. She has a husband, Bart, and two children - 11-year-old Greta and nine-year-old Easton. On the home front, she's an assistant coach of Greta's ringette team, while Bart helps out with Easton's hockey team.
Along with her family commitments, Le May Doan travels across the country as a motivational speaker and has now worked as a broadcaster at five Olympic Games. Even though sport is still a huge part of her identity, she has successfully made the transition to life after athletics. And that's not easy.
"(Being an athlete) is a pretty great life but the hard thing is, we put a lot on hold," she said. "I did half my degree and I put that on hold. And when I retired I couldn't put kids on hold. I couldn't risk the chance that I couldn't have children, so I jumped into motherhood right after retirement.
"You sort of sit there and say, 'OK, now what? What are the doors that are open?' and you have to maybe work extra hard to have people believe in your abilities. It's a lot of work. It's been probably harder the last few years. Taking on this role with Sport Calgary, it was the first time I'd done a real (job) interview. And people kind of look and think, 'You're joking.' But I wasn't joking. I was 44 and I did my first actual job interview, and that's a scary thing.
"So it's been an adjustment, and probably 10 years ago I wouldn't have expected this. I have been telling athletes that, at some point, there is an adjustment but you take it in stride and you continue with that work ethic that you've had throughout your career."
The Fan the Flame Awards Banquet and Gala also serves as a fundraiser for PacificSport Northern B.C., which plays a major role in the development of local and regional high-performance athletes.
All proceeds from the banquet will support the organization's programs and activities.
The evening of celebration begins at 6 p.m.
