Contest Winner: Course Correction – Jax Bailey

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Jax Bailey’s hard play almost jeopardized his hard work. A sports injury threatened to have him laid up for a year. Rather than moping about his misfortune, he decided to redirect himself.

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I work hard, I play harder. I am very physically active and enjoy hockey, roller hockey, football, basketball, running, swimming, and badminton. A hard hit and a body smash cracked my shoulder and caused right wrist damage that required surgery. I was on the surgical wait list for eight months before my surgery took place in May.

My wrist injury was a big wake-up call. I was unable to work as an apprentice, meaning I wasn’t able to earn any money.

I didn’t want to waste a year sitting idle so I talked to school counsellors and looked at what courses I should be taking to get a grasp of the business requirements. I signed up and worked on courses to become a more rounded and resourceful student who also understands the business end of the trade

The upside of my injury is because I needed to find other activities to fill the void. I was one of 150 youth across Canada invited to attend “Experience Canada 150 & Me” as a youth delegate in Montreal (April 9 -14th, 2017) focusing on discussions about Canada and its future. I was also selected as one of 50 youth across Canada as a delegate for the Rick Hansen Youth Summit in Ottawa (May 19–22, 2017, just three days after my surgery).

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I will be back to capacity over the next few months and even more motivated and ready to work hard and play harder.

Jax Bailey won a DeWalt 20V XR hammer drill and impact driver combo kit, courtesy of DeWalt.

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We’d like to make sharing our readers’ passions an ongoing part of the magazine. If you think you’ve got a better tale to tell, send it to Allan Britnell: allan@renocontractor.ca .