Page 15 - The Wayne Dispatch

Hall-of-fame hockey player subject of movie that

will raise funds for Champions of Wayne program

By Carolyn Marnon
Champions of Wayne is partnering
with Phoenix Theatres for the Annual Pre-
mier Red Carpet Fundraiser and an exclu-
sive private screening of “Willie” on
Wednesday, September 25. Tickets are
$50 per person and are available at
www.championsofwayne.org. Please re-
serve your ticket by September 16. In-
cluded in the ticket price is a catered VIP
Red Carpet Reception, beer and wine, an
opportunity to meet the cast and crew,
and entertainment by Don Swindel.
“Willie” documents the amazing life of
Willie O’Ree, the first black player in the
National Hockey League who broke the
color barrier in 1958. The documentary
follows the incredible story of Willie’s fam-
ily from his great-grandfather’s escape
from slavery and flight to Canada, to
Willie’s ascent to hockey’s highest honor-
induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame on
November 12, 2018. Willie’s life tran-
scends hockey-it is a journey in pursuit of
an opportunity to blaze new trails and in-
spire people of all races, both historic in
its sweep and scope, and relevant to our
current day.
According to Willie, he set two goals
for himself when he was 14 years old-to
play pro hockey and to play in the Na-
tional Hockey League. He says it never oc-
curred to him that he was opening doors
and breaking down barriers for players of
color. Willie was the first negro to play in
the National Hockey League. No one knew
at the time that he was blind in one eye.
He played 45 games in the NHL and
played 21 years as a pro. “I think you have
to have the courage to take that one step
beyond and follow your dream,” says
Willie in a 4-minute video on the NHL.com
website.
According to Champions of Wayne Ex-
ecutive Director Deborah Vigliarolo, Willie
does a lot of volunteer work for underpriv-
ileged children. The screening of this film
at Phoenix Theatres State Wayne is the
major fundraising event for the champi-
ons program whose principle mission is
to transform student obstacles to success
by way of an incentive-based mentoring
system so that each student graduates in
the best way possible.
“Willie” will also be screening at the
Windsor International Film Festival that
runs November 1-30. Tickets for that are
available starting October 10 at
www.windsorfilmfestival.com.

The Wayne Dispatch · September 2019 · 15