Page 21 - March 2017 Thoroughbred Highlight

Counsel
At Woodbine, we have
an Employee Assistance
Program, which provides
a counselor for anyone
holding a backstretch
license. It’s normal in many
companies or organizations when you leave the East Stable Gates, not only here in Toronto, but throughout Canada. It’s not normal at your average race track and we are fortunate to have it. Quite simply, there are times in people’s lives when they need to talk
to someone. Horse people pour their lives into the animals they look after and after a while the well runs empty. Simply talking to someone can restore the sanity to our stress- lled lives.
The fourth part of our mandate, based on Matthew 25, is counsel. Many people see counseling as getting advice- think Lucy in Peanuts with her
Advice Stand and a at rate of 5 cents. As much as that would be fun to do, (I’d love to put one outside the track kitchen), counseling is not about getting advice. I’m sure that everyone, everywhere in the world of horse racing has gotten advice at one time
or another. Usually advice starts like this: “You know what you ought to do?” Most of us will either follow the advice or blow it off- we’ll follow it if it’s a “come
to your senses moment”, or blow it off because we’re stubborn or we’ve heard it a hundred times. Advice tells you what to do, based on the ability and/or experience of the advice giver. Watch someone like Dr. Phil advise a person who is overweight: “You need to eat less and exercise more”- well duh! Now it’s up to the person to make the choice to follow the advice.
Counseling differs from advice giving in that the counselor comes along side that person and helps them discover what is triggering the feelings that they are having in a given moment. For the most part,
when people come to see me they don’t know what is causing the feelings of anxiety- they just know that some thing’s wrong and it’s not normal for them. Usually, but not always,
there has been an incident in a person’s life which has impacted them deeply and has been suppressed down in their soul. Sometimes people will deal with the painful feelings by abusing drugs or alcohol. Other times people will deal will their feelings by abusing
the people around them- unfortunately it’s often the people closest to them. I can only walk back with a person to that time in their life when they suffered pain and try to help them deal with it and then help them move on in their lives.
Another difference between the counselor and advice-giver is that as a counselor I will help you, inde nitely. There is no charge and no restrictions on subject matter (unless there is imminent danger to self, an unidenti able third party or suspected abuse or neglect of a child). But one thing remains- change can only come about when the person is willing to change.
Jesus is referred to as a “wonderful counselor” in Isaiah 9:6 and is described in the New Testament as one who will never leave or abandon anyone. That
is my reference point when it comes to working with the men and women who look after thoroughbred race horses. If they can give their all to care for what God has created, then why shouldn’t I give my best to them?
Let me close with some advice I heard many years ago and to be honest, have not followed in my life: “Always keep yourself in the best of company and you horse in the worst of company and things will turn out just ne”.
You can contact Chaplain Shawn Kennedy at: 905-713-4783 or chaplainshawn@hotmail.com
Pancakes at Woodbine for Daily Bread Food Bank
February 28, 2017 as part of their WEG Cares initiative, Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) held their 15th annual Pancake Lunch for WEG employees in support of Daily Bread Food Bank. Tickets were $10 plus one non-perishable food item and 100% of the proceeds was given to Daily Bread Food Bank (DBFB).
A cheque for $1595 was presented to DBFB representatives that day adding to the more than $44,000 that has been raised by the employee pancake lunch throughout the years. The 2017 goal for the Daily Bread Food Bank is $8 million and 8 million pounds of food.
Pictured here (left to right): Grechen Geronimo, DBFB Partnership & Events Team; Jessica Buckley, WEG VP Community Relations & Corporate Affairs; Patricia Feehely, DBFB Partnership & Events Team; and Emily Mallin, WEG Media Relations.
Thoroughbred Highlight - Page 21 - March 2017