On the morning of November 27, 2024, the U of A community celebrated the academic achievements of its 2024 Fall graduates from the faculties of science, engineering and kinesiology, sport and recreation. Congrats and well done, everyone!
During the ceremony, inspirational hometown hockey hero Randy Gregg was recognized for helping thousands of people of all ages enjoy the benefits of sport and recreation while building a better community for everyone. From captain of the U of A Golden Bears and Canadian Olympic hockey teams to a storied NHL career including five Stanley Cup wins with the Edmonton Oilers, he has parlayed his leadership on the ice into a lasting legacy.
His full speech is below.
Good morning Eminent Chancellor Somji, President Flanagan, Dean Hemmelgarn, Dean Pyke, President Emeritus Turpin, distinguished guests, families, friends and most importantly, today’s graduands. Wow, that’s a list of some pretty important people.
It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting in one of those seats waiting to walk across the stage to celebrate all the hard work and the challenges that were overcome to attain such a valuable university degree.
For months I have been trying to decide on a speech topic that I would have enjoyed listening to if I were still sitting among the graduates in the audience. I talked with my good friend, Dr. Turpin, about a topic that may be appropriate for such a distinguished group today. I actually like to call him David because when I call him Dr. Turpin, he gets a bit of a swelled head and he is hard to be around for a few hours. Fortunately, his wife Suromitra keeps him in check on a daily basis. Suromitra has been a very successful lawyer and has led numerous corporate boards across the country. What you may not know about Suromitra is that she is herself a natural athlete and an expert in a vast number of sports. So if you have any questions about sport, she is your go-to gal!
Getting back to David, he suggested that maybe I should talk to you today about success. I told him that I really didn’t know that much about success. He reminded me that I was a member of five Stanley Cup championship teams, but I mentioned with Gretzky, Messier, Kurri and all those great players in the 1980s, my mother could have won five Stanley Cups.
He then reminded me that I did score 50 goals in the NHL. But I told him that it took me nine years to get all 50.
Finally, he said, "Have a look at your beautiful wife, four healthy children, and 12 grandchildren. You definitely were successful in enriching our community with these great young people."
I finally agreed with David and my mind was then made up. I want to talk to you today about the concept of success.
I looked up the definition of success in the Cambridge dictionary and it read, “The achieving of the results wanted or hoped for."
Every person likely has their own definition of success, but I believe it is not our definition of success but rather our focus on results that make true success so elusive. In minor soccer, if success is achieved by winning the game, then 50 per cent of our young players are failures. But if success is achieved by playing one’s hardest and enjoying the challenge of the game, then every player in a game can be successful.
In a marathon race, if success is achieved by winning the race, then only one of hundreds of runners will be successful. But if success is achieved by committing to the training, preparing for the race and trying to achieve a personal best time, then every runner can be successful.
I look around today at all your smiling faces and can’t help but enjoy this environment of academic success. But if success is achieved by having the highest marks in your graduating class, then only a few students in this audience will have been successful.
If success, however, is achieved by dedicating the time and effort to learn, becoming part of the university community, developing long-term friendships with classmates and committing to be the best you can be in your chosen profession, then every student in this audience can be successful.
You may have heard of the new baseball team in Edmonton, the Riverhawks. I have been fortunate to have been involved in the creation and management of the team since its inception. Over the last two years, we have eclipsed the West Coast League attendance record after joining the league only three years ago. Success right, yah I guess so.
But I want to tell you about my most satisfying baseball success. After every Riverhawks game, I noticed that the concession staff were throwing out the cooked hot dogs that weren’t sold during the game. Being the youngest child in a family of six kids, I couldn’t believe that any food could ever be thrown out. So I asked the staff to put the hot dogs in a box and keep them for me. At about 1 a.m. when all the cleanup was done after the game, I would drive to the downtown Spady Center and give out the hot dogs to homeless people. They had no idea who I was or where the hot dogs were from, as most were suffering from mental health issues or drug addiction. But they were all hungry! Once the hot dogs were all given out, I would drive home, jump into bed and try to get some sleep in order to get ready to see patients at 8 a.m. the next morning.
After the second last game of the season, something magical happened. I drove downtown after our game, parked my car, loaded up my hands with hot dogs and as I walked toward this group of bodies lying on the concrete trying to sleep or simply survive the night, I heard a female voice yell out, “Hey, the Hot Dog Guy is here!”
Surrounded by homeless people lying on the street simply trying to make it through another night — this was one of the most satisfying successes in my life!
Along with playing for the Golden Bears and Oilers, I was also lucky enough to represent our country playing in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. This sixth-place finish in the Olympics was the highlight of my sporting career, much more so than all of my Olympic wins. Not only did I meet the cutest little Canadian speed skater in the Olympic Village who ended up becoming my amazing wife for the last 40 years, I had the privilege of being part of a team led by Father David Bauer, a visionary in sport who valued academic commitment and personal development as much as winning or losing!
There is a quote attributed to Father Bauer that is so reflective of his perspective on sport and life in general and has reinforced my definition of success over the years. It goes: “Make use of technique, but let the spirit prevail.” It will not be the test results that you attained or the knowledge that you acquired here at the University of Alberta, but rather the spirit of learning, sharing experiences and striving to be the best you can be that will ensure your long-term success in life.
And twenty years from now, when you are sitting around a table talking with friends about your convocation ceremony at the University of Alberta way back in 2024, I hope you tell them that you had to sit and listen to some Hot Dog Guy who tried his best to define what true success really is!
Best wishes to all the graduates.