Fathers making a backyard hockey rink for their children is a timeless Canadian tradition.
Quinton Howden’s father Sheldon is helping build his son something a little more grandiose.
Sheldon Howden is a production manager with Border Glass & Aluminum and as such is installing all of the glass and the doors at the new multiplex. Quinton Howden will be in his 19-year-old season with the Moose Jaw Warriors when the new building opens in the fall of 2011.
“We do hundreds of buildings and put glass in lots of high rises, but this has a little more meaning than just putting glass in a building,” said Sheldon Howden.
While he will likely have one season in the multiplex at best, Quinton Howden knows its significance.
“This building is something pretty huge for this community,” said Quinton.
The Howden family makes plenty of trips down the Trans-Canada from Oakbank, Man. to watch their son play in Moose Jaw. Still, having his dad in town for an extended period is a rare pleasure during the hockey season.
“The family is out here quite a bit, but with him doing this job he will be out here quite a bit more. It will be exciting to spend a lot of time of him,” said Quinton Howden who credited the support of his family for helping him develop into a first round NHL draft pick.
“My family has been through everything with me,” added the 25th selection in this year’s NHL draft. “They’ve supported me through everything. Having my family here helps motivate me and helps me play as well as I can.”
When the multiplex got the green light, Sheldon knew he really wanted to be part of the project.
“When I knew this building was coming up I started going after the developers to find out who was going to get (the contract),” said Sheldon. “I wanted to make sure we had at least a chance to bid it.
“I told them that’s one building I want to get. It means more to me than just a building that one.”
The Winnipeg-based company has a lot of experience working on sporting facilities. Border had a large role in the construction of Winnipeg’s MTS Centre and Sheldon said he has also worked on renovations for hockey rinks recently in Leduc and St. Albert, Alta.
For more please see Thursday's TImes-Herald.
