For this last installment in our Olympic Memories series we revisit the image from our first post in the series and torch relay they lead up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Sergio Grossi was and still is a Depot Coordinator for Coast Mountain Bus Company. The summer before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games his Depot Manager dropped a Olympic Torch contest application on Sergio’s desk.

“You have 15 minutes to tell how you exemplify Olympic spirit – to win a chance to carry the Olympic Torch,” says his Manager.

For his application, Sergio recalled a co-worker who offered to take him on in a game of tennis. Despite the co-workers eagerness and energy, he didn’t have a lot of skill. We had a few very interesting lessons! But I’m truly glad I didn’t give up, as that co-worker eventually became a real friend and unfortunately a formidable opponent,” says Sergio.

Sergio’s other offering for the application was also about tennis. His son and three other young boys were enrolled in a community education tennis course. When they arrived for their first lesson, they learned their course had been cancelled due to low enrollment. Sergio, seeing the kid’s disappointment decided to take all four boys under his wing and teach them the basics of tennis. The outcome was amazing. Both Sergio, the boys and their parents keep this time as a spacial memory.

While Sergio felt there are more deserving employees who could have carried the torch and all that it symbolized, he’s humbled by the honour, which he compares to Haley’s Comet: something that comes along once in a lifetime!

Sergio savoured every moment of carrying the Olympic torch down the Fraser Highway on February 8, 2010.