 |
|
Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery is
Ducks Unlimited Canada's newest ambassador,
working to encourage Canadians to get active outdoors.
Photograph by: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald
|
Olympic golden boy Jon Montgomery to champion wetlands
By Colette Derworiz,
Calgary
Herald
September
27, 2012
He's best known for
grabbing a pitcher of beer from the crowd on the way to his gold-medal ceremony
in Whistler, but it was a classic Prairie scene that defined Jon Montgomery's
career as an athlete.
Growing up in
small-town Manitoba, the future skeleton athlete spent many childhood days
skating on a pond.
"For Prairie
folk, being out-side is part of your DNA," said the 33-year old Calgarian.
"Going out and shovelling off a pond and skating on it is the fabric that
makes up some of the communities.
"It's a social
activity, a social event."
The pond outside of
Russell, Man., is a protected wetland - making Montgomery a clear choice as an
ambassador for Ducks Unlimited.
"Everybody loves
Jon," said Gillian Potvin, spokeswoman for Ducks Unlimited. "He's a
proud Canadian, everybody watched him in the Olympics.
"It was a very
natural fit." The conservation organization, which turns 75 next year, is
declaring 2013 the year of the conservation champion - an initiative aiming to
encourage people to get active and get involved in the outdoors.
