A friendship that all started back in June of 1972, Al Whalen who is a Training/Safety Officer for Gillams Fire Department back in Newfoundland; made the trip down to Timmins to present his long time friend with an award. Helmut Busch who is the Owner of Busch Jewelers in the downtown core of Timmins, had not seen his best friend since 2008. The two have kept in touch, and Busch has been making donations towards the Gillams Fire Department for over 10 years.

You hear this sentence all the time when it comes to donations “every little bit helps” well in the span of 10 years, Busch has donated over 4000$ to the Fire Department in Newfoundland. After all this time and thoughtful donations,  Gillams Fire Department thought it was time to give back. Whalen, who came to Timmins to raise money for a child in his family battling bone marrow cancer, needed to make a quick pit stop at Busch Jewelers to honour his longtime friend.

Busch was given a certificate, and a 10 years of service pin that makes him an Honorary Member of the Gillams Fire Department. Busch was surprised to see his longtime friend walk into his store, they gave each other a big hug. Busch looks over and said ” In life you only have a handful of  best friends… the thumb doesn’t count… if you didn’t guess by now, he’s not the thumb.”

There were many lessons to be learned today… Number one, near or far it doesn’t matter friendships last forever. Two, give and you shall receive, maybe not right away, but at some point someone will give back. Last but not least… it doesn’t matter where you are, whether its the East or West coast, or across the world, you can make a difference.

 

Filed under: Local News