The 5th Annual Run for Rocky – The Finale
“No other city in Canada does something like this,” Rob Campana said to a packed Dieppe Park, his voice full of emotion and pride. His words were met with cheers.
We are so very lucky to have the community we have here in this city. We are so very lucky to have passionate activists, like the Campana family.
We are so very lucky to have each other.
The fifth and final Run for Rocky was a massive success. The entire spirit of this annual run has become an entity bigger than the event itself. It’s taken on a life of its own – and we, as a city, are running with it.
Looking around the park on this beautiful Sunday afternoon and seeing the crowds of people, teachers, students, parents, friends, families, there was no doubt in my mind Run for Rocky has transformed our schools and our city into a safer, more open-minded, more accepting place.
I couldn’t help but wonder what my own high school experience would have been like if there had been GSAs in place. If I had been out.
If I had felt safe enough to be my true self to my teachers, my best friends and my family.
I had a wonderful high school experience packed with amazing memories, but so little of it was my true authentic self. So much of “me” was kept hidden.
Today – it’s still not easy by any means, but the momentum to make it better began 9 years ago with our city’s first GSA started by Joey Wright – and it kicked into high gear 5 years ago, at the very first Run for Rocky.
This display of Pride, this demonstration of LOVE, this MASSIVE showing of support has given our LGBT youth a sense of belonging that so many generations of LGBT people simply never had.
Windsor has something very special. We are so often compared to Toronto or compared to our neighbours in Detroit – but we really need to OWN who we are.
We are Windsor. The people who came out to show their support, to run, to walk, to travel that 5k and raise or donate money and volunteer their time – We are passionate.
We have each other’s backs because it’s what we do.
There was a time, not long ago, that the idea of being an LGBT student and being “out” at school – was unthinkable.
The term “GSA” (Gay-Straight-Alliance) was almost an oxymoron.
A group…of students, who could be themselves, be in a safe space and be OUT to other students? “Impossible! Not in this life time.”
It was just a few short years ago that GSAs were absolutely unheard of, especially in “a city like Windsor”.
A city where, today, members of our LGBT community and our allies are recognizable faces, people we know, who will drop everything if they know one of our own needs help.
We, in Windsor, have something so very special and are. Such a powerful sense of community, when we stand – or run – together.
In an emotional highlight and testament to the impact Run for Rocky has made on the city, Windsor Pride Executive Director Bob Williams took the stage to make the surprise announcement that the City of Windsor has approved the proclamation that April 9 will, from here on out, be recognized as Run for Rocky Day, cementing the legacy started by the Campana Family and carried by the community.
As the run was underway amidst a blast of adrenaline, techno music and cheers – I watched the Campana family hugging each other. I watched people of every age and every generation unite for a cause: To love each other as we are and to let each other know that we are there in times of celebration…and in times of crisis.
Turns out – THIS is what it means to be from “a city like Windsor”.
This is something every single one of us can take Pride in.
This is who we are. There is no “us” and “them”.
It’s just “us”.
The 5 year commitment made by the Campana Family may have come to its finale…but the spirit of Run for Rocky continues on, sprinting forward, forever evolving.
Feature photo by Derrick C. Bisco : Bob Williams, Executive Director of Windsor Pride and the Campana Family as they make the proclamation that April 9 from here on out will be “Run for Rocky Day”.
