Hero Fund Blog

G’day, to all The Canadian Hero Fund friends and followers.

I’d like to introduce myself to you, my name is Randall Cook; I am the person behind the Twitter tweets and Facebook posts as of April 6, 2011.

I wanted to introduce myself to you so you could know a bit about the person who has been chosen to be the social media voice of the Canadian Herofund.

I am a veteran of the Canadian Forces Navy. I entered the Navy in 2003 at the age of 41. I wouldn’t say it was a midlife crisis that brought me to the CF, it was the 9/11 attacks on freedom and democracy that brought me.

I was medically released from the CF in Feb. 2008 after a NATO SMNG1 tour onboard HMCS Montreal and a two and a half year posting to the Acoustic Data Analysis Centre in Halifax NS. During my time in the CF I served as a Sonar Operator and Acoustic Analyst.

As I sat watching the horrific events of 9/11 unfold from my livingroom in Chicago, Illinois the magnitude of what I was watching didn’t hit me until the confirmation came in that it was two American Airlines planes that were involved in the attack, One into the first tower and the other into the Pentagon. Within a week I called the recruiting office in Chicago and asked to re-enlist, yes re-enlist, because I am also a veteran of the United States Navy. I served in a Patrol Squadron (VP-23) from 1980-1986. I served as an Acoustic Analyst onboard the long range aircraft tracking Soviet nuclear and diesel submarines during the last few years of The Cold War.

After serving in the USN, I decided to find work in the aviation field and that lead me to American Airlines. In March of 1987 I began my 10 year career as an International Flight Attendant with American Airlines flying out of O’Hare Airport in Chicago. As I had said earlier, the magnitude of 9/11 hit me when I saw that American Airlines planes had been used in the attack. Three classmates from my AA training class were working on those two planes, two on the first one and one on the second.

I have always felt a strong desire to serve in any capacity and now I had a big fire lit under by butt. I was denied the opportunity to re-enlist in the USN because I was too old (39) at the time. As luck would have it I was also researching the process to declare my Canadian Citizenship (I was born and raised in the states but had always had dual-citizenship). I found during my research that the CF would allow new members up to the age of 50, so I packed my bags and visited my Mom in Ottawa for Canada Day 2002 and while in Ottawa I met with the recruiting office and found what I needed to apply and I was on my way. I received my citizenship card at the beginning of November 2002 and arrived in Ottawa on November 29, 2002. I entered basic training at CFLRS on March 22 2003.

When I could no longer serve in the forces, I kept looking for ways to serve those who still did. I went to rallys, wore red on Fridays, attended services on November 11^th and supported anything to do with the Canadian Forces.

For the last three years I have been a student (at age 47-50) at Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON. I have graduated with honours from the Tourism and Travel program and just completed the Post Graduate program of Event Management. Along with my studies came a big desire to stay connected with my mates from the navy both USN and CFN and I found that possible with Twitter and Facebook. I also found The Canadian Hero Fund twitter page and Facebook page and began following them. I have followed this organization for the last year and when possible I would find myself talking about things I had seen on their pages or in their tweets.

When I saw the tweet about them looking for a Social Media Coordinator, I thought this would be perfect for me. I could finally be involved with a project that is so important to me and I could work alongside a group of young men and women who saw that a gap existed in our society that needed filling.

I am honoured by the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful organization and I am humbled by the responsibility that rests on the shoulders of these young team members that started this wonderful project and I am in Awe of the strength, support and compassion that you, the followers and friends have shown with your comments and commitment to our cause. I look forward to engaging with all of you over the coming months and I hope now that you can put a face to the organization you will feel free to contribute to the conversation.

Cheers,

Randall Cook

http://twitter.com/#!/herofund - The Canadian Hero Fund on Twitter

https://www.facebook.com/herofund - Facebook page for The Canadian Hero Fund

http://twitter.com/#!/Randall_Cook - Personal Twitter Name

http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/randall-cook/12/407/394 - My Personal Linkedin Profile Page