Johnny Bright 1930 – 1983

During his four years at Drake University, Johnny Bright lettered in three sports and was a four time All-American. Coming to Canada, his first two years with the Calgary Stampeders saw him often injured and he was traded to the Edmonton Es...kimos in 1954. In his career he garnered the CFL rushing record by gaining more than 6 miles of yardage - in each of 5 seasons he attained over 1,000 yards rushing. A Western Conference All-Star 7 times, he was named the CFL's most outstanding player in 1959. Johnny contributed greatly to the famous Eskimo teams of the mid-50's who won th Grey Cup in 1954, 1955 and 1956. In 1970 he was named to the CFL Football Hall of Fame.

"Johnny" Bright, a powerful fullback, gained 10,909 yards in 13 Canadian Football League seasons with Calgary and Edmonton. He was top rusher in the West four times and a Western All-Star seven times. "Johnny" Bright was an Edmonton Eskimo contributing to three straight Grey Cup wins in the 1950's.

Deerfoot

Deerfoot is the legendary Blackfoot runner who raced in the1800's, and was said to have outrun horses and riders, and left other runners choking on prairie dust. His real name Scabby Dried Meat, or Api-kai-ees, was changed to Deerfoot by white sports promoters to convey the image of an Indian running fleetfooted across the plains. Deerfoot started running as a messenger during the 1800's for the Blackfoot Confederacy, racing between camps in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana. His prowess as a runner came to the attention of foot-race promoters in Calgary. Deerfoot eventually raced amateur and professional runners in anything from 400 meters to 16-hour races. Challengers from around the world came to Calgary to test their abilities against him. In 1886, a champion distance runner from England, a runner from Ottawa, and Deerfoot competed in a 16 km race. The race was billed as the major sporting event of the year and was covered by media from as far away as New York. With the corruption in sports promotion involving the gambling syndicate, and feeling betrayed, Deerfoot left his promotion team in 1886 to run as an independent. Deerfoot died in 1897 after contracting tuberculosis.

Kofi Annan - Born 8 April 1938

When Kofi Annan became the seventh Secretary General of the United Nations, on January 1, 1997, he was first to come to the job from within the ranks of the UN staff and was the first black African elected to the post. In 2001 both he and the UN were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "their work for a better organized and more peaceful world."

Thomas Jefferson

The third president of the United States and one of the country’s preeminent political philosophers, Thomas Jefferson played a significant role in drafting the Declaration of Independence. Highlights of his two-term presidency included the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The Snowbird CT-114 Tutor

The Snowbirds fly the CT-114 Tutor, a trainer jet built by Canadair in the 1960s, used for pilot training until 2000. A robust and maneuverable aircraft, the CT-114 Tutor jet is ideally suited to formation and aerobatic flying. With its relatively slow speed (maximum speed 412 knots), coupled with its maneuverability, the Tutor jet allows the Snowbirds to keep the formation flying directly in front of the spectators. Similarly, with regards to maintenance, the Tutor is a robust, well-built jet that is relatively easy to maintain, allowing the technicians to ensure that all jets are ready to fly an average of two missions daily.

The 7,170-pound Tutor jet is only slightly modified with a smoke generating system, a distinct red and white paint scheme and a highly tuned engine. The smoke generating system provides beautiful smoke trails, but, more importantly, allows the pilots to better identify the jets and their flight direction. The Snowbirds’ professionalism and skill, coupled with the Tutor’s maneuverability and reliability, make for a beautiful and exciting show.

Gold Medal Hockey

The first Olympic gold medal in hockey for Canada was won in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. The gold medalists were seven players from the Winnipeg Falcons.

The silver went to the United States and Czechoslovakia took the bronze. The other four teams entered in the inaugural Olympic ice hockey tournament where, France, Belgium, Sweden, and Switzerland.

D-Day

The term D-Day stands for the Designated Day for Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion of Northern France on June 6, 1944, during World War II.

Each major offensive during the war had a code name. For example - Operation Torch was the name for the Allied invasion of North Africa. Each Operation also had its own D-Day, the actual day on which the attack would begin. Within each D-Day, there was an H-Hour, designating the starting time for the attack, usually just before dawn at 0500 hours in military time, or 5 a.m. in civilian time.

Operation Overlord is now popularly referred to simply as D-Day, a practice begun by news correspondents covering the invasion, given the tremendous significance of the day in which the long hoped-for liberation of northern Europe finally began.