Rob Hughes is no stranger to hard work.
Whether it was competing on some of the world's biggest stages, his decade long work with the Sarnia Sting, or his new job with Lambton Elderly Outreach, Hughes puts everything he has into what he does.
He got his first taste of international competition at the young age of 17, representing his country at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Even 17 years later, he remembers it as if it happened yesterday.
"Probably the most thrilling time of my life, I remember going into the stadium and there was 120,000 people there for the opening ceremonies. It was very nerve racking as a 17-year-old, but it was the best experience of my life," says Hughes. "I remember the day of my competition, my coach at the time somehow got into my room and laid out my uniform on the bed with a note that said 'this is what it's all about, go get 'em kid', those memories will stay with you forever."
Hughes will be entering his 11th season with the Sarnia Sting, he handles some game day operations and is in charge of online statistics. Although he's been working with the Sting part time for over a decade, he had a tough time finding full time employment, and it wasn't for the lack of trying.
"I graduated from Lambton College in 2013 and sent out a bunch of resumes, and after a while I began to lose hope and started to wonder if I was going to be on disability for the rest of my life," he says.
That all changed in March of this year when he approached the CEO of Lambton Elderly Outreach, Bill Yurchuk.
"I asked him if there was anything available. Sure enough, I came in a week later for an interview, and a month after that I found out I got the job," says Hughes. "The big selling point for me, even though there are government programs to help cover the costs for people with disabilities, Bill told me that he wouldn't apply for those subsidies because he couldn't do it for anyone else."
"So right there, he see's me as a person, not anything else. He see's me as a viable candidate for employment, that was life changing for me."
Hughes moved to the area in 2007 to attend Lambton College and work with Joel Skinner at the Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track and Field Club.
He's not the first member of his family to be involved in national competition, His great-grandfather competed in water polo at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. His grandfather was the head official for athletics at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, and his aunt was Canada's chef de mission for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
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