The Amazing Life of Jim Braich..

Jim Braich lived a big, honest life
Ken Herar, The Times
Published: Tuesday, August 25, 2009

"My brother need not be idolized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man."
Those were the emotional words of Kenny Braich on Saturday, remembering his older brother Jim at the Clarke Theatre in Mission.
In a packed auditorium, hundreds came out to pay final respects and honour the life and memory of Jim Braich, who passed away last week after battling leukemia for more than eight years.
Braich, who was born and raised in Mission, is the son of logging pioneer Herman Braich Sr.
The former Roadrunner basketball star graduated from Mission Secondary in 1979 and later attended UBC for two years on a basketball scholarship.
Known provincewide for his outstanding basketball skills, Braich received many honours including the most valuable player award at the Fraser Valley Championship in his high school graduating year.
Mission Secondary in 1981 was ranked No. 1 in the province with an unbeaten record. Kenny and Bobby Braich played on the team, while Jimmy was one of the coaches.
While setting records as a player, he was just as legendary off the court and admired by many in the community for his leadership capabilities and soft-spoken, humble nature.
As Kenny shared with me a few days before the service: "Jim knew how to win, but more importantly, he was as graceful in losing as winning, bringing the best out in everyone."
When diagnosed in early 2001, he was only given months to survive. Through his strong will and determination, Braich became an example how life can be prolonged under these difficult circumstances even when heavy odds are placed against you. Kenny, also shared that Jim could be the second longest surviving victim with this particular disease.
Managing Herman Sawmills Ltd. from 1981 to 1994, and co-founding the Bridgewater Group after his father's death, Braich earned a reputation of an honest, knowledgeable and dependable businessman.
Like his father and brothers, no day was better spent than at the races. Braich successfully raced horses across North America to many victories, including the B.C. Derby in successive years. His crowning achievement was campaigning the Canadian Sovereign Award winner Bolulight to victory in the final running at Longacres Park racetrack of the Pacific Northwest's most regal race.
Former Mission Secondary basketball coach Brian Fichter, who brought the Roadrunners to several triple-A B.C. high school championships at the PNE Agrodome throughout the 1970s and '80s, remembered Braich in a touching speech.
"Jim was always an inspiration to everyone and especially to his teammates. He was a natural leader and will be sadly missed," said Fichter.
There hasn't been a family in B.C. basketball history that has touched the game like the Braich family. Each brother (Erwin, Herman Jr., Jimmy, Bobby and Kenny) set scoring and assist records, which still stand today.
Two brothers were named to the high school all-star team at the B.C. championship tourney.
During their glory days, they and their teammates elevated basketball to heights never seen before in Mission.
Younger brother Bobby Braich shared in his eulogy that good genetics played an instrumental role in all of their sporting lives and recalls their competitive spirit as children and how scores were settled at the dinner table or on the street over their favourite hockey and baseball teams.
Bobby recalled the time how he came off the bench as a Grade 10 player to replace Jimmy who was in foul trouble in a crucial game at the Fraser Valley championship tourney.
Bobby was "very nervous" but he hit his first two shots and Jimmy gave him a thumbs up from the bench, a signal he never forgot.
Kenny, who was the master of ceremonies on Saturday, told the audience that right until the final hours before Jim's passing at the hospital, he still greeted everyone with dignity and respect.
"That's who my brother was."
KenHerar@gmail.com
© Abbotsford Times 2009

Letter to the Editor..

Column writer misses the mark on ignorance and stat holidays
The TimesPublished: Tuesday, October 20, 2009
EDITOR, THE TIMES:

Re: Ken Herar's Friday column, Ideas for making area more inclusive:
I read Herar's column with interest, but I must take issue with a couple points.
First of all "ignorance" is a lack of knowledge. You may find it offensive that a person would choose to leave Abbotsford because of the racial makeup of their neighborhood, but it doesn't fit the definition of "ignorant."
Secondly, regarding the statutory holidays. In the fall we currently have Thanksgiving. The other stat in the fall is Remembrance Day when we honour my father, uncles and grandfathers - and maybe some of your relatives - who fought and gave up their lives for the freedoms we have in this country.
The freedom to choose where we live and even to tell people why we make our decisions. Replacing these stats would be very unpopular.
Roy Miller,
Abbotsford
© Abbotsford Times 2009

Letter to the Editor...

'Event day' concept just may unite people and chop crime
The TimesPublished: Friday, July 31, 2009
EDITOR, THE TIMES:

Re: Ken Herar's column last Friday entitled Inspiring others to succeed:
Personally, I find it difficult to get friends out and do things here in Abbotsford.
Maybe there's a mild lack of interesting things to do that's free locally. So when I think about making a community more inclusive, I get a gut feeling that initially it'll only apply to those with common interests.
And if we focus along those lines, we can ease into some ideas so that they'll make sense to broader groups over time and bring them together and possibly have them share new experiences and ideas with each other.
With the proverbial ball rolling, there is potential for the social glue to bond and become larger as a source for interests and passions are offered up and explored.
So getting to the point finally, I would really want to be a part of would be an "event day" down at Mill Lake where many local bands can come out to play free and activities such as volleyball, bocce, badminton, etc., could be setup by volunteers.
Those who aren't able to gather enough friends together can come down and enjoy a game with some new people.
Festivals and celebrations throughout history have always brought people together. Perhaps it's time to get more of that within Abbotsford and on a regular basis (one day a week). Who knows, it might be the No. 1 way to reduce crime in Abbotsford, seeing as most drug use and crime are first introduced out of boredom.
I can't think of any strong inclusive communities that are without regular and constant festivals.
Steve Vyas,
Abbotsford
© Abbotsford Times 2009

A Much Needed Break..

Finding time to serve up a needed break
Ken Herar, The TimesPublished: Friday, July 10, 2009

Ido get the rare opportunity to write about my pain and glory. So enjoy it!
As you may have noticed, my past few months have been busy attending several social gatherings around town.
It's been a go-go-go pace and unfortunately it doesn't get any slower throughout the summer. I decided to spend some much needed R&R in front of my computer and invite you into Ken's revolving world.
It's time to grab that rusty Wilson tennis racquet out of that stinky gym bag and show those tennis hacks a life-altering lesson from "rally in the Valley."
That is right, folks. I was known throughout my career as a retriever or human backboard. Getting countless tennis balls returned that dared to cross the net. Maybe even hitting a few blustering backhands stinging my opponent's ego from time to time would get me a love game.
That was a few years ago and things have changed slightly. It seems like the green fuzzy balls are buzzing passed my racquet on more than one occasion. Can someone please remind me what winning was like?
An older player once shared with me several years ago: "Enjoy the time you have because it won't last forever." This message means more to me than ever before.
Organizing local tennis tournaments for 15 years and coaching for many more developed me as a player and, more importantly, as an individual.
As a young man it taught me that through sports you meet other inspiring athletes and community members. Until, I was faced with embarrassing headlines like Organizer Wins Own Tournament, written by a young sports editor who grew up to be this paper's editor!
Witnessing Roger Federer claim his 15th Grand Slam Title at Wimbledon last week brought back some desire to hit the courts again.
Being sidelined with a few injuries is not fun and even getting out of bed is a prized day. Not to find excuses, but you need to put a strong effort into your practises and how you performed yesterday doesn't reflect your abilities now.
I am sure athletes can relate to being the top of your game one day to "cya" the next. Sure, it's emotional, but the fact of the matter is, it will eventually happen to everyone. Every dog has its day. Yes, even Federer will face his day.
How you deal with the aging factor in sports is a reflection on your soul. Many athletes walk away from the game and never look back. I find this to be a slap in the face to the many who sacrificed their time to develop them.
If you find yourself headed toward the sidelines of your athletic career get on the bench and start coaching. Inspire young athletes to achieve and help them reach their full potential. Coaching is satisfying and rewarding. There is no better victory in any sport than being behind an athlete achieving his or her goals.
KenHerar@gmail.com

On the road with Gord Kurenoff

Talking trash, diversity part of a busy weekend
Ken Herar, The TimesPublished: Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Bright and early this morning, Abbotsford-Mission Times editor Gord Kurenoff and I took our Building an Inclusive, Diverse Community essay contest on the road.
The first stop was at Dasmesh Punjabi School located in Matsqui Village. I have had the privilege of speaking to students and staff there for the past two years and I am always impressed with their work.
I was also invited to speak at a Mission Secondary socials 10 class by teacher Ed Sward, where he had a pile of entries for me. His entire class submitted entries for our contest and Mission has officially taken over the lead. It's looking like another Mission sweep!
A week ago, I briefly discussed that we all have to take responsibility for our actions and stop throwing our garbage on local streets.
I am starting to realize its no different when readers throw "trash-talking" responses into my e-mail bin and make assumptions that South Asians are the only people who litter in our community.
"For all I know where they come from it is normal and accepted to throw garbage from the window of their car," one reader wrote.
Hogwash. Obviously, this individual doesn't get out much. He suggested I put more balance in my approach and coverage.
Specifically targeting South Asians as the sole culprits of harming the environment is utter nonsense and factually not accurate. I have witnessed all kinds of people tossing things from their vehicles and you cannot point the finger at just one group.
He figured we will again see more garbage on our streets during the Diwali celebrations. What this individual fails to acknowledge is we witness the same kind of behaviour - or maybe even worse - with many non-South Asian folks during Halloween.
What I personally dislike are those smokers who throw cigarettes out of their windows, especially when there are cars directly behind them.
Anyways, enough of this rhetorical nonsense and on to real issues.
Man, was it ever a busy weekend. I attended two Diwali events on Friday and was invited to another on Saturday. The Diwali celebration in Mission on Friday night was a huge event with a packed audience at West Heights school.
There were classrooms full of activities for children to participate in (henna, diya painting and crafts). I was really impressed how young kids dressed up and were running around and enjoying themselves. The Mission Sikh Temple donated food.
Later that evening, I attended Diversity Festival 2009 at Northview Church in Abbotsford. It was the first of its kind sponsored by the Centre for Multi-Cultural Ministries. The evening was filled with entertainment and tasty food from five different countries.
Diwali was also celebrated this week at Parliament Hill in Ottawa and Prime Minister Stephen Harper had these comments after lighting the traditional lamp: "The growing Indo-Canadian community is at the forefront of Canada's quest to build an even better country for generations to come."
The Times Oct 30th essay deadline is almost here. The question is: "What have you done or what can you do to build an inclusive community?"
Responses must be 300 words or less and can be e-mailed to me or dropped at the Times office.
- Award-winning columnist Ken (Kulwinder) Herar writes for the Abbotsford-Mission Times. E-mail him at Kenherar@gmail.com.

Call me Kulwinder...please

All Punjabi names have deep meaning, purpose
Ken (Kulwinder) Herar, The Times Published: Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I have been struggling with this "identity issue" for decades. I finally decided to come out of the closet and set the record straight - for as crazy as this sounds, it's my name.
Since I was a toddler and went to school, I was known as "Ken" or "Kenny" - both fabulous English names. Obviously I didn't have a choice at birth!
I come from a generation where parents wanted their children to have English nicknames rather than traditional Indian names.
The main reason, honestly, is that many names are just difficult to pronounce for English-speaking folks. They also wanted their children to feel accepted and not teased at school. A major sacrifice to make just to feel part of a western society.
Sure, I have been ridiculed by friends like, "where's your Barbie doll, Ken?" Or, referred to as the Irish beer "Kilkenny."
And if I am not mistaken, there is a T-shirt that reads, "I killed Kenny." I sympathize with all the Kennys and Kens out there.
For the longest time, I didn't like people referring to me by my traditional Indian name, which was given to me by my grandparents. Only a few close people know my real name.
When I was surfing through my legal documents, passports, birth certificate and driver's licence, one thing became very clear: I am legally known as someone else!
This internal struggle on who I am "pretending" to be and who I really am is going to have some closure.
For years, I was ashamed of my traditional Indian name and ran away from my real identity. I have come to the realization you don't have to change your name to be part of an "inclusive Canada."
My name defines my soul and my heritage and nothing can ever replace that. Even when people say, "you need to be Canadian."
The funny thing is many of us already have changed our names. I respect people who keep their vibrant traditional names in Canada.
I know one thing, if my parents stayed in India, I wouldn't have imagined having a name like Ken.
Are you ready to hear my real name? A little drum roll, please. My Punjabi name is Kulwinder. Isn't that a beautiful name? I like it and it's universal. Males and females can share this name.
In the Punjabi culture when children are born the first initial is picked by the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Scriptures), which has 1,430 pages.
The holy priest closes the scriptures and then opens it and the first initial that appears on the left page is the beginning of the newborn's name.
From there the family decides on what the name should be.
My initial came up as the letter "K." Not all Sikh families practise this formula. As I discovered, there is deep meaning to Punjabi names and a purpose.
For example, Kulwinder is broken into two separate meanings as described by a friend. "Kul" means family or ancestry. "Winder" refers to a shining star.
I encourage people to call me Ken or Kulwinder. I will not be offended by either. But, just not "Kenny," please. It's too boyish for me.
If you look closely I have added both names into my introductory head as a reminder of our diversity. Let's celebrate what has been given or passed down to us!
KenHerar@gmail.com

More AbbyFest..

Sharing the love, diversity at AbbyFest
Kulwinder Herar, The TimesPublished: Tuesday, September 29, 2009

"Exciting, colourful, inclusive and good friendly family atmosphere," were the words of volunteer Cindy Richard - or respectfully known as an AbbyFest ambassador - describing the second annual Abbotsford Multicultural Festival at the Entertainment and Sports Centre on Saturday.
The day's events got underway around 10 a.m. with the opening ceremonies that included a welcome theme performance by Langley Fine Arts School.
An impressive Parade of Nations followed, led by the Elders of the First Nations, Police Honour Guard, two drummers, local dignitaries and 35 flags carried by children and adults dressed in various national costumes representing the communities in the Fraser Valley.
Organizer Musleh Hakki, who parachuted with Abbotsford MP Ed Fast on Canada Day to promote this event said: "I was very happy on how the day went and lots of people came with positive feedback.
"People highlighted the fact it is positive to interact with others."
Hakki addressed three powerful ideas in his welcoming address: Love, knowledge and courage. He reminded everyone that it takes courage to use knowledge in a positive manner.
There were many messages from political leaders shared with the crowd, including ones from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, B.C. Lt. Gov. Steven Point, Premier Gordon Campbell, B.C. Attorney General Mike de Jong and Mission Mayor James Atebe
They were five master of ceremonies who took the stage at different times throughout the day: Balan Moorthy, Abbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich, Milt Walker, Mayor George Peary and local city manager Frank Pizzuto.
Some of the morning entertainment included: Spanish Gypse dancing from Scirocco, Bhangra dancing from Bhangra Beat Academy and Scottish dancing from Inverglen. An amazing 27 performances followed in the afternoon.
I had my running shoes on and visited some of the 72 booths on the hardwood floor protecting the ice surface below, which was covered overnight following the Abbotsford Heat's pre-season hockey win against the Manitoba Moose.
My first stop was at the Fraser Valley Chinese Canadian Association booth where I met Daniel Wang, the president of the association. He said they hold approximately four to five local events a year and are "looking to expand in the area."
My second stop was a short distance away at the Conseil Scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, where I meet Principal Fariba Daragahi, who heads the Ecole des Deux-Rives in Mission.
Then I hopped next door to the B.C.Muslim Association (BCMA) Abbotsford Chapter to see some beautiful girls painting their hands also known as "Henna."
The painting exercise is used for variety of occasions including weddings, festivals and celebrations. I meet Sidrah Ahmad, who explained the Abbotsford chapter is quickly growing and more Muslim families are coming out to the Fraser Valley.
I made a quick visit at the Bahi Faith table and shook hands with Harold Rosen and Cenie Lucas. Across the isle, was the Early Childhood Committee for South Asians, where I met Monica Grover and Pavan and picked up some information on local support groups.
KenHerar@gmail.com