ESTEVAN — A local woman spent a week in Regina volunteering and enjoying the Grey Cup festivities.
Caroline Saxon of Estevan has been volunteering at the Grey Cup at locations across Canada since 2013, the previous time Saskatchewan hosted the biggest Canadian football event, which she says is something every football fan should experience.
Saxon didn't plan on coming out to the cup until a call for volunteers caught her attention.
"They were looking for volunteers, they needed well over 1,000 volunteers at that time [for the Grey Cup in 2013]. And I thought, 'Oh my God, that would be absolutely wonderful. Because the Grey Cup was in our own province and I love football,'" Saxon recalled.
She instantly knew she wanted to go to Regina to volunteer, but she also wanted to watch the game, which she had tickets for. But the only person who agreed to join her, at least for the game, was her niece Lisa Lukye. Saxon shared her experience with volunteering, and from then on, every year the two women would travel to the Grey Cup location to help out during the week ahead of the game, and then be at the stadium on Sunday, enjoying the event.
"We work as a duo, we work together. And it's absolutely wonderful. When you volunteer, you get to be a part of the big picture. All these people that are there, the friendships that you make. People that you meet come from all over, even the U.S., to watch the game," Saxon shared.
Not only is it fun to meet new people and watch the game, but it's also interesting to explore new communities. Their passion and hobby took them to Vancouver, Hamilton, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary and back to Regina this year. Getting ready to volunteer, Saxon and Lukye research cities where the Grey Cup is so that they can navigate the cities better.
"When we get there, people think that we're from that city. They say, 'Oh, you guys know more about what's happening here than we do, and we are from that city,'" shared Saxon with a laugh.
This year in Regina, they started off volunteering at the Ramada Hotel, greeting people, and they got to meet a lot of the Winnipeg Bombers staying there. On Friday, they volunteered at the REAL District and then got to go to the alumni luncheon – a fundraiser to support former football players.
"Football players of yesterday, they did not have any safety nets in place, like pensions or any of the above. So as they got older, some of them were pretty down and out. So, what they do is they have live auctions and silent auctions. And they have a big dinner, it's like $150 a plate or so, and they raise money for the alumni of yesterday with these guys," Saxon explained. "And it's so nice to see so many of them."
This year at the luncheon they got to meet a lot of former players, including Saskatchewan Roughriders’ legend George Reed, who Saxon met before at the very beginning of her passion for football. There she also spotted former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"He was sitting a couple of tables from us … and there was no huge security or anything like what you see in other countries," Saxon noted.
Later in the week, the two local volunteers got to work at the Co-operator’s Centre, providing information to guests, and then Saxon also helped at the NextGen Energy Street Festival on Saturday.
The game day saw the big football fans in the front row right behind the Toronto Argonauts’ bench at the 20-yard line.
"It was just absolutely wonderful. It was such a good game," Saxon shared.
She added that even though there were a couple of minor glitches, the halftime show was beautiful as well. And another thing that stood out for Saxon this year was the reaction of guests coming to Saskatchewan.
"People from all the other provinces, when they came here, they could not believe how wonderful Saskatchewan people have been to them. They've always known Saskatchewan fans are the greatest fans and are so hospitable, but they also were just mesmerized by the venue that we had in a small town in Saskatchewan, in Regina, and that it was so huge that it could house everybody inside for all the events," Saxon shared.
Next year Saxon and Lukye plan on going to Hamilton again for the next Grey Cup to volunteer, have fun, enjoy good football and reconnect with other volunteers, sportscasters, players and other friends they've made through the years.
"All the people that we've met from coast to coast have become such good friends that it's like a big family reunion every year," Saxon said.
