His support of the Salmon Arm SilverBacks goes beyond words.
Gerry Thomas, a fixture in Section C at the Shaw Centre, brings a drum to the games, a native hand drum, that he crafted himself.
“The beat of the drum is the beat of my heart,” he explains. “Like I tell the boys, when you hear the beat of the drum, it’s to help you get going… A lot of the boys that are sore and stuff, they come over and shake my hand and say, ‘thanks for helping us out.’”
Thomas is one of the Junior A hockey team’s biggest fans and has been since day one.
“When the SilverBacks started, I went to all the practices, I went to all the games,” he says.
That was in 2001 and, up until this season when he’s had to work out of town, he missed only three home games. That’s three out of more than 350.
“My anniversary fell on one of them… I shouldn’t have got married in October, I should have got married in June or something,” he laughs.
The other two missed games?
“I just about died,” he says, explaining he was suffering from bronchitis and pneumonia.
Thomas has always been in love with hockey, both as a fan and as a player. He played himself until arthritis in his knees made it impossible. The sport, specifically the SilverBacks team, has also provided a way for him to support youth, another passion for him.
When Thomas would see kids standing outside the arena, he’d do what he could for them.
“I started buying tickets for the youth, native and non-native, who couldn’t get in.”
The support increased to include food, where the young people who didn’t want to eat at home would be provided burgers, chips and pop.
“Never had any alcohol,” he emphasizes. “I was strictly against alcohol. If you’re going to help out somebody, you help them out in the proper way.”
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Thomas received quite a compliment about his actions from a local man who moved to Prince George to go to school. In the man’s younger days, his dad had left the family and there wasn’t enough money to pay for the games – so Thomas helped him out.
“He is doing the same thing as I was doing for him, he is paying for some of the kids that wanted a ticket to go to the game…
“It was always to help them out, I just wanted to help out the youth. I help out whoever I can.”
His help hasn’t gone unrecognized.
Thomas, a member of the Neskonlith band and son of respected elder Mary Thomas, who passed away in 2007, once received a national First Nations award for his success as a role model for youth.
“I work with the youth quite well, I’m easy to get along with… We get a lot of youth come over to our place in Salmon Arm,” he says of the home he shares with his spouse Phyllis. “Quite a few of them talk about my place because it’s a place they can crash without getting into trouble, then they can phone their parents and let them know where they’re at. I tell them be sure you phone your parents… Me and my wife have always worked with the youth for quite a while, over 30 years. We used to look after kids for social services. I try to get them all into sports – it takes their minds off doing other things.
“I always say, you treat your youth good, they’ll look after you when they get older.”
Thomas feels equally supportive of the SilverBacks players, and often keeps in touch even after they move on.
“Those are my boys, I always say they’re my little brothers… I try to keep in contact, so they know I’m still following them.”
In addition to playing hockey, as well as basketball and other sports as a younger man, Thomas is quite a bowler, notching two perfect games in 1998.
He is no stranger to work. Now into welding and pipe-fitting, Thomas has done a variety of jobs, including jumping out of helicopters as a forest firefighter. As a youth, he used to walk from Kelowna to Salmon Arm, leaving after school on Friday and arriving about 11 a.m. the next day, about a 17-hour walk.
“I was pretty tuckered. I was doing it for my grandmothers… I hauled wood for them.”
He’s pleased with the improved relationships today between native and non-native members of the community.
“I think we finally crossed our bridges on both sides. I think the bonding with my mom and the people of Salmon Arm really joined a lot of people together, helping each other out. The elders set the pace on helping each other out. There’s no use turning back…”
In addition to his other experiences, Thomas has played drums in a band, a skill which has added to his expertise on the hand drum.
He makes a new drum for every hockey season. At the end of the season, the players sign it and he gives it to a community group as a fundraiser for youth.
“If somebody wants to put their name on the drum for the donations, get a hold of me, I’ll gladly give it to them for the fundraising.”
Thomas stands in Section C with a group of people who have bought the same seats for years.
“Some people have been there since I’ve been there. They like the sound of the drum,” he says, adding not everyone in the rink does.
Thomas met some of the SilverBacks’ parents recently; they were happy to meet the guy who drums for the team.
“They said thanks for helping out our boys, we said thanks for giving your boys to us. If it wasn’t for them, they wouldn’t be here.”
Thomas would like to see the ‘Backs take first place this season, but predicts they’ll probably take second – behind Penticton.
He likes the new team and calls general manager Troy Mick “totally awesome.”
Meanwhile, Mick can’t say enough about Thomas.
“We hear him every game – it gets people excited. More fan interaction is usually better for the home team. He makes it loud and proud. It helps the players see the fans are really behind them.”
Mick describes Thomas’ drumming as “outstanding,” and admits to being pretty disappointed that he’s had to go away to work.
“He’s really the one. People always talk about it and I really love what he does.”