Mark Iwachniuk

I first met Mark Iwachniuk when we played baseball on the same team when we were either leaving or entering the sixth grade.  Mark was never one of the better baseball players, but I remembered him because he was a friendly and positive person.  Years later I changed towns and I moved to the same road where his dad lived and we became classmates.  We had some moments of conflict in grade nine and ten, but I want to share a few things that I have learned from Mark Iwachniuk.

1. Early on I learned that Mark was a harder worker than most of the people our age.  Mark had an after school job delivering papers.  He worked in the summers and he also found other opportunities to work when possible.  Mark showed the rest of us to have a good work ethic, at a time when a lot of the rest of the kids our age (myself included) would rather be playing video games, sports or watching TV. 

2. Mark liked sports but when we first started to go to school together, Mark was not an "athlete".  He would enjoy playing and would like to be with the guys, however, Mark was somewhat overweight which was something that kept him from reaching a higher caliber in sports.  One day this changed, Mark fell in love with Basketball, and his passion for the game lead to an incredible metamorphosis in his life.  Mark began to play harder, to play smarter and Mark began to become an athlete.  He lost weight, he developed new friendships, school even started to become important to him.  Mark showed me what it was like to be passionate about something, and that passion can change lives.  I remember days when we would shovel off a basketball court in January to play, and I remember summer days when we would drive around for hours looking for playground games (a la "White Men Can't Jump").

3. Mark and I also played football for two years together, we would travel a half hour to practice there and back.  A difference between the two of us was that Mark had never played organized football before and I had played for seven years.  We played on a very good team and we both played different positions.  Both Mark and I struggled to receive any playing time, but another difference between us was that Mark took it in stride and I was extremely put off by my minimal role and as Mark learned to love our team and the sport, my attitude was bringing me another direction.  Mark taught me that the right attitude can make situations and relationships better.

4. Even though Mark had been getting more involved in athletics, he was still busy working.  The summer after he had graduated he started to work on a road crew which meant many early morning trips to the work site.  On one of those summer mornings, before my final year of high school, I found out that my friend Mark Iwachniuk was in a collision on his way to work and he did not survive the accident.  Our high school was in shock and our community was very shook up.  It took me a long time to come to grips with losing a friend, but his life and his friendship have had a huge impact in my life and the last thing that I have learned was to not take people or relationships for granted.  Our time here is temporary and life is fragile, so make the most of your opportunity with those around you.