Co-operation. Courage. Sportsmanship. These are among the themes behind the ‘Future Aces Creed,’ highlighted at the heartening 50th Anniversary Gala of Canadian hockey legend Herbert H. Carnegie’s Foundation last Thursday. The event, held at the prestigious Toronto Centre for the Arts, hosted a number of celebrities and dignitaries, including Michael “Pinball” Clemons, Natalie Glebova-Ms. Canada-Universe-CTV’s Marci Ien, and Ontario’s Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy, among others.

Carnegie’s Future Aces, which began as a hockey school after its founder’s playing days ended, has evolved into a global charitable foundation that has given out more than $370,000 in scholarships to students, organized leadership conferences for youth, and above all, promoted a philosophy that espouses character-building, positive action, and humanistic ideals.

However, to know what lies behind the true significance of the Future Aces and Herb Carnegie is to understand what he has endured. Born to immigrant parents from Jamaica in 1919, Herb took to his home town of Toronto’s love of hockey, growing to be an incredible player. During the 1930s and 1940s, he skated for the ‘Black Aces,’ a team in the Senior Quebec league.

Playing on one of the most formidable lines in hockey and briefly teaming with the legendary Jean Beliveau, Carnegie undoubtedly had the skills to follow his dreams and make the National Hockey League. But the unwritten code of that time was that no black man was to play professional hockey. Such was the fate for Carnegie, as Leafs architect Conn Smythe had once come out to scout Carnegie and upon watching him said to others, “If we could paint him white, I’d sign him tomorrow’.

Undaunted by this setback, Herb Carnegie simply redirected his energies. As Clemons pointed out in his keynote speech, “He could have been angry, but he knew: what angers you, controls you.” What followed was a formation of a hockey school and foundation that would turn what was then a heartbreaking failure into a resounding success. Carnegie’s accomplishments are staggering even in brief: inducted in to Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, an Honorary Doctorate from York, Honorary York Region Chief of Police, and also a member of both the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada.

The gala itself encapsulated these accomplishments and celebrated the philosophy of the Future Aces in fine fashion. Clemons was his lovable self, inspiring others with his emotional words and trademark enthusiasm. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale provided a moving musical interlude along with a splashy performance by the “Northern Lights” Show Choir from Don Mills Collegiate. Topping off the affair was the presence of Mr. Carnegie himself, who issued a challenge to everyone: “We’re living in uncertain times, and we must stop this cycle of warfare. The only way to stop it is to reach out and care for one another.”

In his simple yet convincing manner, Herbert H. Carnegie provided a fundamental model for all to follow. As Clemons said, Carnegie knew that life is not about ‘stuff’; it’s about people.