Carol Belanger first got involved in Bradford Minor Hockey “the way a lot of parents do."
"My son was in novice select," she says.
The year was 1995, and her son was only eight years old at the time. She attended her first hockey association annual general meeting, responding to a call for volunteers, and immediately asked a friend to nominate her for the position of secretary.
Belanger admitted that she didn’t put up her hand because she was passionate about the game, or had an opinion about the rules and regulations.
It was just that as she listened to the comments of some of the executive members, she had an epiphany: “I can organize things better than those guys can!”
She was elected to the executive and the rest is history.
Belanger served on the Bradford West Gwillimbury Minor Hockey Association executive for 11 years, filling nearly every position on the board, including convenor for house-league tournaments one year when no one else stepped up.
The only role that she didn’t fill, and that she refused to fill, was president.
She didn’t want the politics or the wrangling.
Instead, Belanger was happy to work beside longtime president Paul Dossey – “He’s wonderful to work with,” she said – and other volunteers, to organize committees, sessions on the association's constitution, and game scheduling.
“It’s the little things that need doing” to ensure the sport is both fair and “fun for the kids” that were her focus.
And it was her fellow volunteers that kept her engaged in hockey, over the years – even after she stepped away from Bradford Minor Hockey, and long after her son left minor sports.
“Now he’s 34 and I’m still organizing,” she said with a laugh. "It's the people."
Not only is she committed to the sport, she enjoys working with her fellow volunteers.
"They are not there for the praise and glory. They look for ways to get the job done,” she said.
Belanger resigned from Bradford Minor Hockey after some internal tensions and criticism within the association, instead accepting an invitation from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) to serve as juvenile convenor, then bantam convenor.
She quickly found it an overwhelming task. Bantam and juvenile games might go until 11 p.m.; the convenor then had to prepare the game sheets and submit them by 7 a.m. the next morning.
“I stayed up until 5 a.m. in the morning, then got up at 7 a.m. to go work,” Belanger remembered.
She didn’t often complain, but this time, when she did, the OMHA listened, and made changes that made things easier for all convenors.
For the past six or seven years, Belanger has volunteered with the York-Simcoe Minor Hockey League, now serving as first vice-president.
Hockey has changed over the years, she said, “but the fundamentals, of kids having fun, haven’t changed.”
Belanger’s 25 years as a volunteer in minor hockey are a drop in the bucket compared to her other volunteer commitments.
She has been an active member of the parish’s Catholic Women’s League for 44 years.
“They talked my mom into joining,” Belanger said, and her mother insisted that Carol come along. “I decided if I’m going to be in, I might as well act!”
It was her father, a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, who introduced her to the food bank.
“When he got too old to go by himself, I drove him. And I stayed,” she said. “Again, it’s the people you work with.”
Then there is her life-long love of music. Belanger was only 16 and still in high school when she joined a group of like-minded teens to perform at churches, nursing homes and retirement residences throughout the area.
“It was just something, as young kids, we wanted to do,” Belanger said.
And something that she has continued to do. Not only has she been involved in providing the music at 10 a.m. mass at Holy Martyrs of Japan Catholic Church since 1973, she and other volunteers continue to visit Bradford Valley Care Community, entertaining twice a year, at Christmas and in the spring.
“We sing their songs,” Belanger said, the "golden oldies" that the residents remember. “We sing the songs they know. We have fun there with them.”
And that’s the secret of volunteering, Belanger said.
“You give your time, but at the end of the day, it’s a good feeling that you’ve brought a smile to someone, or you’ve made it easier for a group of people, as in hockey, to get things done.”
Belanger is almost embarrassed about the recognition she has received. In 2012, the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury presented her with the Volunteer Service Award; in 2014, she received the Patricia Hartley Administrators Award presented by OMHA, and in 2015, Belanger received the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award.
“I’ve never been short of things to do,” said Belanger. “You do get benefits from volunteering: good feelings!”
