Who doesn’t like an underdog? I think we all do. Be it in business, sports or on the playground. The individual who defies the odds, the business which flourishes amongst the behemoths or the sports team deemed to have no chance, yet finds a way to victory. The underdog’s story can be compelling, can teach us life lessons, can shock us, and at times give us hope.

I was thinking about the lesson in perseverance that I learned from a Canadian downhill skier, Larisa Yurkiw. Larisa’s story came to my attention by way of Brian Nason, a respected broker, avid skier, and a good man. Brian was doing some shilling on behalf of Larisa. He asked me if MERIX would donate some prizes for a fundraiser to help Larisa realize her dream, to represent Canada at the Sochi Winter Olympics. We exchanged emails and spoke a few times about Larisa and I became intrigued. Like most people, if we were really honest, we only seem to pay attention to Olympic sports, other than hockey, once every four years. For two weeks we wrap ourselves in the Canadian flag and cheer on skiers, the maniacs who compete in the luge races, and every other Canadian athlete we pay little attention to during non-Olympic years. Our Olympic athletes can compete with the best in the world and many have to overcome insurmountable odds.

Larisa Yurkiw is an example of overcoming the odds. She suffered a devastating injury on the slopes, and she was cast aside and cut off by the Canadian Olympic Association. Wining can be ruthless, and no pun intended, a very cold business. There are only so many dollars to go around, and athletes that are hurt, and deemed not to have chance, well, they’re left to their own marketing abilities to raise money in the hope to represent Canada. In this day and age of mega professional sports contracts, billion dollar broadcast deals, it seems strange to hear an athlete ask for money so they can train properly. It’s jaw dropping when the same athlete says that depending on the amount of the donation she will personally knit you a toque. I’m not kidding.

It was a little over a year ago Merix decided to get behind Larisa’s cause. We reached out to our mortgage originators and asked for their support. Ahem, that’s code for money. Our combined efforts and generosity resulted in a five thousand dollar contribution so that Larisa could peruse her dreams. And that dream of representing Canada became a reality. Left to her own devices she not only qualified to represent Canada at the Sochi Winter Olympics, she is now ranked 6th in the world.

To all our supporters and staff who contributed and supported Larisa, thank you. A big thank you goes out to Larisa as well. Larisa, thank you for reminding us what perseverance can accomplish, that odds can be overcome, and that it’s cool to chase a dream. Here’s to gold, watching our flag rise, and singing our national anthem so loudly at the medal ceremony that you’ll be able to hear us in Sochi.

Until next time,

Cheers