Born in the fall of 1938, Walter Gretzky grew up on a farm near Brantford, Ontario in the village of Canning. Walter Gretzky, like many Canadians, became an avid hockey fan growing up in the days of the original six. Walter Gretzky became a fairly decent hockey player himself and was not the only Gretzky to capture headlines with his hockey skills. Walter Gretzky never advanced beyond the arenas of Southwestern Ontario, however, his love of the sport would be passed on to his sons, one of which, Wayne Gretzky, became very well known in hockey circles and the world of sports. Walter Gretzky spent his working years as an employee of Bell Canada. He retired in the early nineties at a relatively young age. Shortly after Walter’s retirement tragedy struck in the form of a brain aneurysm (ruptured blood vessel). Very few people survive this affliction and the doctors had no reason to believe that Walter would be the exception. The family was gathered together for what was believed to be Walter’s last night on earth. This was the second time that he found himself in serious trouble. The first time was when a manhole cover blew up in his face leaving him deaf in one ear. Ultimately, Walter’s survival left him to deal with a long recovery which lasted about four years. The aneurysm also resulted in a permanent 20 year lapse in memory of the early 1970's to the 1990's.

Hockey’s most famous father, after years of intense physiotherapy, not only recovered, he has risen to become one of the most sought after individuals on the banquet lecture series. Being Wayne’s father certainly made Walter Gretzky known, however, it is Walter’s zest for life, love of sports, and appreciation of Gretzky fans that made him popular. When not traveling around North America helping charities and speaking, Walter Gretzky loves to golf in the summer, coach hockey in the winter, and spend time with his grandchildren.

Chris D. Lewis became Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on August 1, 2010.  By accepting this role, he assumed responsibility for one of North America’s largest deployed police services – a police service comprised of over 6,100 uniformed members, over 2,700 civilian employees and approximately 850 Auxiliary members who provide services to 942,405 square kilometres of land and 94,610 square kilometres of waterways.

 Commissioner Lewis oversees front-line delivery, administrative support services as well as specialized and multi-jurisdictional investigations throughout the province of Ontario. During his almost 32-year career with the OPP, Commissioner Lewis has amassed a wealth of policing experience, particularly in front-line administration, various investigative disciplines and tactical operations.  
 
In addition to serving as Provincial Commander of Field Operations (2007-2010), he  was Interim Provincial Commander of Strategic Services (2006); Commander of the Investigation Support, Information Technologies and Emergency Management Bureaux (from 2004-2006); as well as Commander of OPP Eastern Region (2001-2004).  Commissioner Lewis fulfilled the role of Director of the Criminal Investigation Branch (2000-2001) and was seconded as Director of the Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario (1996-1997).  He also worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to establish and lead the Cornwall Regional Task Force (1993-1995).
 
Commissioner Lewis was awarded the Order of Merit of the Police Forces in 2004, and then subsequently promoted to Officer of the Order of Merit in 2010.   
  He has led the OPP response to a number of high-profile events impacting Ontario’s safety and security.  Lewis is also a sought after lecturer on leadership and other policing issues and has authored numerous articles for police publications.
 
Commissioner Lewis is committed to community-based initiatives and recently served as a member of the Campaign Cabinet for the United Way of Greater Simcoe County.  He also chairs the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics Committee. 
  He holds numerous professional memberships such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Associates, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
- Cited the Ontario Provincial Police website - Commissioner's Biography

Jamie lives in Kitchener-Waterloo, but was raised in Hanover Ontario, where he pursued an adolescent dream of playing hockey professionally in the NHL, with music as a background distraction. When he realized that his natural abilities for singing and playing guitar might make it easier to attract the attention of girls, he hung up his blades. It was a logical progression for a sensitive guy who wrote poetry and short stories throughout his high school years.
  His interest in music was likely genetic, since his mother sang and played piano, and his father played guitar and mandolin. Jamie had piano lessons at age 5 and guitar lessons at age 8, and by the time he was 10 years old, it was traditional for the Warrens to entertain after Saturday night eukre games (a Canadian card-game institution) in their smoke-filled basement. His earliest influences were whatever his parents listened to on the radio, and the only thing his parent’s radio seemed to play was country music. To this day, he’s still a huge fan of Merle Haggard, Tammy Wynette and Patsy Cline. Later, in high school, his best friend’s older brother’s record collection exposed him to celebrated vocal groups like The Eagles, America, Poco and CSNY. Lately, he feels an affinity for Texas singer-songwriters like Radney Foster, Lyle Lovett and Rodney Crowell.
 
Attending Conestoga College to study Broadcasting, Jamie’s goal was to become the youngest general manager of a mid-market radio station, but he emerged with a desire to sing for a living. What changed his mind? Jamie won a regional talent show at London Ontario’s Western Fair, which sent him to Memphis Tennessee for an international competition, where he placed second. Jamie remained in Memphis, pondering his career potential as a singer while he worked a one-year gig at Libertyland Theme Park. He still feels a connection to the city that started it all for him, thinking of Memphis like a gentle woman who taught him how to love.
 
Returning to Canada, he began an association with producer J. Richard Hutt, who produced “Right Here Right Now” and all of Jamie’s previous recordings, but who initially engaged Jamie as a singer for jingles he produced out of his Kitchener-based CedarTree Studios. “I didn’t have a clue what I was doing” says Jamie, “but Rick had a lot of patience”. He must have learned something from the experience, because his first Top Ten hit came shortly thereafter, with “Take Me Home Mississippi” and subsequently, a win as New Artist of The Year at the 1985 RPM Big Country Awards.
 
Five more singles were released from that album but Jamie’s particular style of country didn’t sit well with either ‘80’s country radio or the Nashville labels he almost convinced to sign him (they passed on Jamie in favour of a fellow named Randy Travis). In the interim, he got married and had two kids, playing locally in small clubs to pay the bills.
 
In 1993, Jamie was convinced that both radio and Nashville might have relaxed enough to make room for him again, and he released “Fallen Angel” on River North/Mercury Records, which yielded an enduring fan favourite and radio hit, “One Step Back”. The success of this record was followed closely and even more impressively, by the album “Just Not The Same”, which surrendered several Top Ten singles and lead to a handful of JUNO and CCMA nominations in multiple categories. Since then, Jamie released the critically acclaimed “Really” in 2003, and a career retrospective collection of greatest hits in 2005 under the title “Make Me Believe”. In 2008, Jamie released the very personal “Right Here Right Now”.

Tessa and Scott were paired as a dance team in October, 1997, by Scott’s aunt, Carol Moir, who coached them in both singles and dance at the Ilderton Skating Club. Almost immediately the team began working with Paul MacIntosh on a part-time basis, traveling to and from Waterloo in the wee hours of the morning several times a week. In 2002, the team moved to Kitchener-Waterloo to train full-time with Paul MacIntosh and Suzanne Killing. In 2004, Tessa and Scott moved again – this time to Canton, Michigan to skate at the Arctic Edge Arena with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva. 
   Tessa is a part-time student at the University of Windsor, majoring in Psychology. She loves school! She is passionate about ballet, modern dance, traveling and golf. Tessa supports the Thames Valley Children’s Centre and is committed to Humane Society projects.
   Scott coaches in his spare time and is extremely proud to be able to help develop young dance teams from the Ilderton Skating Club. He enjoys golfing and watching hockey. Scott also supports the Thames Valley Children’s Centre and has participated in Special Olympics’ projects.

Bob Reid has been writing songs for over 20 years, but only recently began recording and performing as a solo artist. His first release, “Highway of Heroes,” debuted at #1 on the Canadian singles sales chart last Christmas, and remained Top 20 for four months. In March, Bob was invited to visit the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan where he performed for the troops. He also co-hosts (with SAC Board Member Blair Packham) a weekly music-focused talk show, “Rock Talk,” heard Sunday nights at 6:00 PM on NewsTalk 1010 in Toronto.