Myrl Goddard is an easily recognizable man around town.
Usually clad in attire emblemized with the Olds Grizzlys insignia, Goddard can be found cheering on the local Junior A hockey team at the rink, or about town selling tickets to whatever fundraiser the Grizzlys are hosting at the time both in and out of season.
An Olds resident since he was 10, the 86-year-old has maintained a constant connection with young and old through his quarter century of volunteerism with the Grizzlys.
In that time, he's never missed more than a dozen games and has helped raise countless dollars for the organization.
His long-standing support of the hockey organization earned him a Bob Hill Memorial Builders Award during the 2012-2013 Grizzlys' annual awards banquet last month.
“Being a hockey fan, you do just about anything to help out,” said Goddard.
Each year during the lead up to the team's cash calendar, lottery and Grey Cup fundraisers, Goddard pulls out his previous year's list of ticket purchasers - yes he keeps track of every single one of them - and comes up with a game plan for how he's going to get out and see them all again.
His lists include the names of about 200 people.
“I don't know if it's my good looks or charm, or persuasiveness,” said Goddard of his yearly ticket campaign success.
“My friends and I have raised about $30,000 this year,” he added.
When not out selling tickets, Goddard enjoys tinkering with woodworking projects that benefit the Grizzlys as well.
Over the years he has built shelves for the Grizzlys office, souvenir and ticket booths, shadow boxes for jerseys and of course, the knotty pine picture frames that are sold each year, with some of the proceeds donated to the Grizzlys.
And it's all done in the name of hockey and community spirit, he said.
“I'm a hockey nut for probably 70 years,” he said.
“I'm still crazy (about hockey) and will be until they take me out of the house feet first.”
Shinny games, played on a slough where the Ford dealership is today, while wearing Eaton's catalogues as padding, are about the extent of his on-ice experience.
He did, however, spend a lot of time skating at the arena as a youth.
From the 1940s through the 1960s, he and his brother rented out a public address system allowing him to announce during hockey games such as those played by the Dirty Dozen and the Olds Elks.
For a time, his passion for old cars superseded that of hockey but the love of the game drew him back in after the Grizzlys came to town in the 1980s.
He has added his Bob Hill Memorial Builders Award to a treasure trove of similar plaque recognitions awarded by the Grizzlys from over the years.
“You kind of forget about the ones you've had before,” he said. “I just keep going with it. I've served my time and maybe that's coming to an end soon. I hope not though.”
