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Thomas George Prince MM SSM (October 25, 1915 – November 25, 1977) was an Indigenous Canadian war hero and the most decorated soldier in the First Special Service Force or Devil's Brigade, an elite American-Canadian commando unit, during World War II. He was Canada's most decorated First Nations soldier, serving in World War II and the Korean War.  Prince's military deeds as a scout and as a forward combatant were unique and of major strategic importance.

Tommy Prince was descended from First Nations chiefs. Prince's grandfather had negotiated treaty rights in Manitoba with representatives of The Crown. Prince himself would also represent First Nations concerns in Ottawa as Chairman of the Manitoba Indian Association (currently Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs) and the First Nations delegation. He advocated for the abolition of the governing Indian Act in Canada and proposed respect for the traditional Crown treaties as the basis of First Nations rights. Prince's position, although considered radical at the time, has been vindicated in subsequent decades by Supreme Court of Canada rulings in support of the Crown treaties and is now the basis of government policy.

Early life
Born in Petersfield, Manitoba, he was one of 11 children of Henry and Arabella Prince of the Peguis First Nation (Brokenhead Ojibway Nation) near Scanterbury, Manitoba. He was the great-grandson of the Indigenous Chief, Peguis,  who had led his nation from Sault Ste. Marie, currently in Ontario, to the southern end of Lake Winnipeg in the late 1790s, keeping their French name, the Saulteaux. Chief Peguis, who lived until 1864, gave his name to his people, but created the Anglicized name "Prince" for his sons and successors. Tommy Prince was the grandson of Chief Henry Prince, also known as Mis-koo-kenew or Red Eagle, a son of Chief Peguis, who was an original signatory and a principal negotiator of First Nations Treaty 1 at Lower Fort Garry, Manitoba on behalf of the Peguis or Saulteaux tribe on 3 August 1871. The treaty as negotiated reserved hunting and fishing rights for the indigenous tribes of Manitoba, as well as land rights. Chief Henry Prince was also an original signatory to Treaty 2 on 23 August 1875, which reaffirmed the promises contained in Treaty 1. Tommy Prince's father Henry Prince was also a chief of the Saulteaux nation.

Tommy Prince's family members had a strong military tradition, and had served in the Canadian armed forces in support of the Crown during the 1870 Red River Rebellion. Chief William Prince (a first cousin of Tommy Prince's father) had led the Nile Expedition Voyageurs in the relief of General Gordon at the Siege of Khartoum in 1885. During WWI Prince's family members had served in France.

Growing up, Prince became a superb marksman with exceptional tracking and stealth skills learned from countless days spent hunting in the wilderness around his Indigenous reserve. Prince's father would teach him marksmanship and he developed the skill to shoot five bullets through a target the size of a playing card at 100 metres. He attended Elkhorn Residential School, completing grade eight and proceeding to secondary school. He joined the student Royal Canadian Army Cadets and later stated, "As soon as I put my uniform on, I felt like a better man. I even tried to wear it to class." He continued with the Army Cadets throughout his teenage years. Prince had aspirations to become a lawyer, but had to leave high school at age 16 due to circumstances of the time, dire family finances during the Great Depression. He was employed at a variety of manual-labour positions but primarily as a tree feller.

World War II

First Special Service Force creation
At the start of World War II in September 1939 Prince volunteered to fight with the Canadian Army, although First Nations members were not subject to any conscription for national defence and were not required to join the armed forces. He easily met the requirements for recruitment, but was turned down several times before he was finally accepted on 3 June 1940, at a time when the war had reached a crisis for British and Canadian forces with defeat in the Fall of France. He was originally a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers, trained as a "sapper" or member of a combat engineering platoon. He was promoted to lance corporal in February 1941. Prince eventually became bored with the routine duties spent mostly behind a desk or a lathe, and joined organized Canadian Army sports activities such as running and boxing. Later in 1942 he learned of the creation of a new unit which interested him, and he volunteered for duty with a parachute unit designated the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion. This designation was used to disguise the true reason for the recruitment of parachute volunteers in the UK at that time: the United States and Canada had begun the formation of a special force to conduct sabotage and raids against targets in German-occupied Norway. Men were recruited in Canada and in the overseas Canadian Army in Britain for this unit secretly named the First Special Service Force. The Canadians involved with this training continued to be listed on the rosters of their prior units. Although later given an official title of the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion for administrative purposes, no such unit actually existed. Prince then reported to the UK's parachute school at RAF Ringway, near Manchester.

In September 1942 he returned to Canada where his enlistment was registered as the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1CPB), and was promoted to sergeant. He then formally but unofficially volunteered for the still confidential and unknown 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion and proceeded to Fort Benning, Georgia, where they were forming. The Canadians were well below strength due to injuries in training and washouts of substandard recruits. They agreed to bolster the 1st Special Service Force (later known as the "Devil's Brigade") commando unit by allowing men to volunteer, and were transported to Helena, Montana where the Americans in the Force were training. Due to security and secrecy concerns, the Americans and Canadians were transported to Montana by trains with the windows blacked out, so that no one would know where they were headed. The modern American and Canadian special operations forces trace their heritage to this unit. The Force initially consisted of 1,800 men, 900 Americans and 900 Canadians, and one-half of the officers were Canadian and the Brigade second-in-command was a Canadian. As casualties reduced the size of the Force during combat, the Canadian contingent could not be replaced due to manpower restrictions in the Canadian Army, and eventually about two-thirds of the brigade were American and one-third Canadian.

The Brigade commander was Robert T. Frederick, who had masterminded the creation of the unit. Frederick would later be hailed by Winston Churchill as "the greatest fighting General of all time". American equipment, arms, and uniforms were used and provided by the U.S. government with a Canadian financial contribution. Prince and the other men of this unit were originally chosen for their rugged outdoor backgrounds and received rigorous training, often under live fire. Only single men were chosen for the Force, married men were not accepted. All members of this elite commando force received intensive instruction in stealth tactics, hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives for demolition, amphibious warfare, rock climbing and mountain fighting and as ski troops. They were trained meticulously in the operation and assembly of German weapons, in the event that it became necessary to use German weapons on the battlefield during combat. This training in German weapons would later prove to be of critical importance in some of the Force's battles. Prince became a "Reconnaissance Sergeant"—or, in the Force table of organization, a "Scout"—responsible for moving into forward positions and reporting on the movements of the enemy.

Warrior Traditions
Prince's Ojibwe First Nations warrior traditions would be assimilated into his combat skills. The Ojibwe/Algonkian warrior traditions emphasized the skills of stealth and invisibility in their tactical methods. Even in large scale battles, once the action commenced the fighting was undertaken on a single combat basis by individual warriors. The causes and resolutions of the battle were determined by individual grievances, and loss of life was deliberately circumscribed to resolve the issues with a minimum of casualties.

Italy deployment
The Norwegian operations were cancelled due to changes in Allied strategy. Following reassignment, the 1st Special Service Force was initially deployed in the Aleutians for possible actions against Japanese forces, but no battlefield situations materialized. The unique capabilities of the Force in mountain warfare were recognized by Allied commanders in the Italian campaign, and the Force then moved to Italy in November 1943. They would take part in the stalled Allied offensive against the Bernhard or Winter Line, which had effectively obstructed the Allied push towards Rome. In December and January, the 1st Special Service Force would be assigned to assault enemy positions which were regarded as impregnable, Monte la Difensa, Hill 720, Monte Majo and Monte Vischiataro, assignments which large assaulting formations of Allied soldiers had failed to attain, and had sustained enormous and sometimes catastrophic casualties in the attempts.

During the Force's initial Italian assignment to a reserve position near Monte Cassino, Tommy Prince first discovered and developed his capabilities of entering enemy locations at night without making any sound and without the enemy being aware of his presence. Prince's ability to move in complete silence wearing traditional moccasins into situations where the enemy could be threatened became known to senior officers such as Lt. Col. Tom Gilday, who commanded Prince's battalion. Gilday established a close working relationship with Prince and would assign him to special tasks requiring his unusual abilities.

Monte Majo
Monte Majo and Monte la Difensa were the critical twin mountain peaks which anchored the German defensive lines in Italy. The 1st Special Service Force managed to succeed in the Battle of Monte La Difensa on 3 to 9 December 1943 by scaling a steep cliff at night and attacking the German forces on the summit. The next principal objective planned for early January 1944 was the taking of Monte Majo, which was assigned to the Canadian contingent of the Devil's Brigade, and was an almost insurmountable problem. German artillery and machine-gun emplacements had been arranged in layers on the steep slopes. An attack on any one of them would alert the other defenses and also the main German positions on the summit. Any assaulting force would be met with withering fire. Earlier Allied attempts to take the mountain had met with failure and disastrous casualties.

Lt. Col. Gilday, desperate to devise some strategy for the assault, assigned Tommy Prince to lead a patrol and move at night in an attempt to create a pathway for an assault on Monte Majo by eliminating the enemy gun emplacements on the lower and middle slopes of Monte Majo blocking the intended route. This would require Prince to execute his orders without making any sound or arousing the other German positions. If Prince's mission succeeded, it would allow an assault by the Force to follow immediately and climb up the steep mountain side. The offensive was planned for 8 January 1944.

The commanding officer for the assault on Monte Majo, Cpt. Taylor Radcliffe, remarked that Tommy Prince "moved just like a shadow" as he led his patrol away from the forward outpost into the night. Under cover of darkness, Prince led his patrol partway up the lower slopes to a position where he left his men behind as a supporting group, should they be needed to provide covering fire. Prince then single-handedly approached and entered the successive German gun emplacements one after another, commencing with the gun pits on the lower slopes and then proceeding with the higher emplacements on the middle slopes. He successfully dispatched all of the gunners and soldiers in the artillery and machine gun bunkers with complete silence and without eliciting any enemy alarms or defensive fire. Prince then returned with his patrol to Cpt. Radcliffe's forward post before dawn and reported that his mission was accomplished. All of the German gun pits located on the intended route of the Force's assault at the base and the middle of Monte Majo had been neutralized, with only the German positions on the summit remaining to defend the mountain. When the Force commenced their movement up the slopes of Monte Majo, they passed by the now silent German machine gun and artillery bunkers, and Radcliffe became aware that Prince had done "a beautiful job". Radcliffe never learned the exact details of how Prince had managed to accomplish this stunning result, beyond the fact that Prince had entered the gun emplacements and had then eliminated the gun platoons. Radcliffe's company leading the attack was able to ascend to the summit of Monte Majo without firing a single bullet. Prince's silent feat of arms enabled the daring assault by the Brigade on Monte Majo to proceed, the enemy taken by complete surprise.

Once in control of the summit, the Force made use of captured German heavy machine guns which had been abandoned during the enemy retreat to repel a long series of fierce German counter-attacks over a period of several days. The distinctive sound of the German heavy guns were identified by the German counter-assault soldiers, who would shout out in confusion to the Force soldiers holding the summit, in German, "Stop shooting at us! We are Germans!" Prince would also be involved in these later actions to defend the summit against counter-attack. Following the taking of Monte Majo, the 1st Special Service Force had been reduced from 1,800 men at the start of the winter campaign to only 400 as a result of casualties.

The Canadian contingent of the 1st Special Service Force was awarded the Battle Honour "Mount Majo" for this action by both the U.S. and Canadian governments. Tommy Prince did not receive any individual award or medal for his unparalleled and essential contribution to the successful outcome. Prince's special skills and acts of stealth at Monte Majo would have been regarded as classified information related to a secret mission. The nature of Prince's assignment at Monte Majo could not have been described in a medal nomination or citation without compromising the security of future operations. In recent years, special operations soldiers are often awarded high decorations in secret, but are not awarded the highest decorations to avoid public exposure. The 1st Special Service Force, a unit in which heroic acts were commonplace, earned many unit awards which were shared by the entire Brigade, but comparatively infrequently awarded individual medals to its men. Similar achievements to Prince's in combat would typically be awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal or the Victoria Cross or the Medal of Honor in the Allied forces in general. However, Prince's accomplishments at Monte Majo were of singular status which surpassed the range of any existing medal.

In November, 2019, a Bravery In Arms documentary  was produced of the First Special Service Force assault on Monte Majo. In the documentary, Prince's accomplishment was described while showing the actual location of the battle.

Anzio
After breaking through the German Bernhard Line, the 1st Special Service Force was then moved to Anzio, where a U.S. and Allied landing had been contained and was heavily under attack. The 1st Special Service Force, now comprising about 1,200 men, was tasked with holding several miles of perimeter against a full German division. On 5 February 1944, near Littoria, Prince was sent forward by Lt. Col. Gilday to report the location of several German assembly points, including artillery positions.  When Prince failed to return the following day, Gilday feared that he had been killed or captured by the Germans. However, Prince suddenly emerged from the darkness into Gilday's post two nights later and reported to Gilday how he had found a deserted farm house close to major German gun positions. With Prince still observing from inside the farmhouse, German patrols had then arrived and  occupied the house. Prince had managed to elude the Germans searching the house without being discovered and had then hid in the attic for another day until the Germans left. The following night after this report, Prince was sent back by Lt. Col. Gilday to the same farmhouse bearing thousands of feet of communications wire. From the abandoned farmhouse about  from the enemy assembly area, he could report the location of their emplacements using  of telephone wire. The next day, an artillery duel developed as the Allies attempted to knock out the guns reported by Prince, and one of these rounds cut the telephone wire. Prince discovered some farmer's clothes in a closet in the house, found some tools in the farm shed, and walked out dressed as a farmer weeding the crops. Locating the damaged wires, he rejoined them while pretending to tie his shoelaces. He made a show of shaking his fist at the nearby Germans, then again toward the Allied lines. Returning to his lookout spot he continued his reports, and over the next 24 hours four German batteries were knocked out of action. In all he spent three days behind enemy lines. When Prince returned to the Force positions and made his report, Lt. Col. Gilday pointed out to Prince that if he had been apprehended by the Germans while in the peasant clothes, he would have been executed as a spy. For this action he was awarded the Military Medal, his citation reading (in part) "Sergeant Prince's courage and utter disregard for personal safety were an inspiration to his fellows and a marked credit to his unit."  Gilday's decision to recommend Prince for this medal immediately launched the reputation of Tommy Prince among the soldiers in the 1st Special Service Force as well as in other Allied units.

During the Anzio campaign, Prince would change his boots and don moccasins which he carried in his backpack whenever requiring silent movement. He would reportedly sneak past German security guards at night and enter enemy sleeping locations, leaving messages or warnings, stealing boots, and sometimes using his knife to dispatch an enemy soldier. These psychological warfare attacks earned the nickname of "geist" ("ghost" in English) or "Teufel" ("demon" or "evil spirit" in English) from the German soldiers.

Prince would also engage in a regular sniping schedule at Anzio, under his own initiative. He would venture out at night into no-man's land between the opposing armies, choose a hidden vantage point, and target any German who wandered within his sights. Before long, the German division opposing the 1st Special Service Force had retreated nearly two and a half miles away from direct contact, apparently shaken by the night activity of the Devil's Brigade.

France
After being the vanguard of the US forces liberating Rome on 4 June 1944, the SSF was moved to southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. First they would assault the Hyères Islands before going ashore at Sylvabelle on the French Riviera. There the force was ordered, as part of the 1st Airborne Task Force, to push eastward toward the Franco-Italian border.

On 1 September Prince and a private were sent forward through the German lines to scout the enemy positions near L'Escarène and came across an encampment area of an enemy reserve battalion. Prince conducted a detailed observation of this German battalion at close quarters using natural foliage as a cover. He avoided being detected by the enemy.

On the way back to report this discovery, Prince and the private came upon a battle between some German platoons and a squad of French partisans. Prince, an expert sniper, and the private started sniping the Germans from behind, killing about 12 of them, and the startled Germans eventually withdrew. Prince made contact with the French leader, who asked Prince where the rest of his company was located. When Prince pointed to the private and said "Here," the French commander exclaimed that he thought that there had been about 50 men involved in his relief. The French commander recommended Prince for the Croix de Guerre, but the courier was killed en route and the message never reached the French Commander-in-Chief, Charles de Gaulle.

Prince continued on and penetrated the German lines to rejoin the Force positions. He then led it back to the encampment of the German reserve forces and, together with the French squad of resistance fighters which Prince had rescued, joined in the battle. As a result, the entire German battalion of about 1000 men was killed or captured. From start to end Prince had been without food, water or sleep for 72 hours and had walked over 70 km across rugged, mountainous terrain. Afterwards he was recommended for the American Silver Star, his citation reading:

WWII Awards
After it was determined that both US and Canadian personnel would be better suited if they were dispersed to units in their own forces, the 1st Special Service Force was disbanded in December 1944. After returning to the UK, Prince was summoned to Buckingham Palace on 12 February 1945, where King George VI presented him with his Military Medal. When King George VI made his medal presentations, they would consist of a smile and a handshake, as they did for the other recipients on this occasion. However, when the King came to Tommy Prince, he stopped and discussed with Prince his various wartime exploits with the Force for several minutes, and also asked Prince about current conditions on the Brokenhead Reserve. Prince would later receive his Silver Star from US Brigadier-General E.F. Koenig (on behalf of the American President) on 24 April 1945; he was one of 59 Canadians to receive this award during the war, and one of only three to receive both the Silver Star and Military Medal.

In addition to the two Decorations, Prince was Mentioned in Dispatches on several occasions. He received six service medals for his service in the Italian and North West Europe theatres of war, The 1939-1945 Star, The Italy Star, The France and Germany Star, The Defence Medal, The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Clasp, and The War Medal 1939-1945. As a member of the 1st Special Service Force, he received the Battle Honour "Mount Majo" for that extraordinary action, although he received no individual award for his secret mission to neutralize the German defences in the battle. The First Special Service Force as a unit  was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star, as well as the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism.

Prince was reportedly recommended for the French Croix de Guerre for his actions in rescuing a French military unit from German attack in September, 1944, but the courier carrying the information was killed before reaching General de Gaulle. However, in 2002 the Government of France issued an official certificate acknowledging the bravery and contributions of Tommy Prince to the French people and to their freedom from German occupation during WWII, which the French Ambassador to Canada presented to the Prince family. In 2006, the Canadian members of the 1st Special Service Force were each awarded the U.S. Army Combat Infantryman Badge in honour of their service in combat roles in WWII. On 3 February 2015, the U.S. Congress Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the First Special Service Force as a unit.

The war in Europe ended while Prince was in England.

Post World War II

Business
Prince was honourably discharged on June 15, 1945, and returned to his home on the Brokenhead Reserve, working in a pulpwood camp. At this time, Prince's father died, and Prince divorced his first wife. In 1946, a woman attacked him at a dance and cut his cheek with a beer bottle, requiring 64 stitches. After this incident he left the reserve and moved to Winnipeg, although he retained his status as a "Treaty Indian" and did not become a member of Canadian general society.

No longer residing on the reserve, he was then eligible to apply for and receive some start-up business funding from the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Prince began a small but relatively prosperous cleaning service.

Parliamentary Committees and the Indian Act
In 1946 he was elected Vice-President of the Manitoba Indian Association (currently Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs). Prince was then appointed Chairman of the national delegation representing First Nations of Canada at the 1946 joint Senate and House of Commons Parliamentary Committees in Ottawa which were set up to review the Indian Act and to suggest ways to improve the conditions for Native peoples. He traveled across the country and consulted with Canadian First Nations organizations to lobby Ottawa for changes to the Indian Act. The Indian Act had imposed a paternalistic system on the First Nations, regarding them as "wards of the government".

Prince advocated for the abolition of the Indian Act. The Act had made the First Nations essentially dependent upon the government to manage their lands and resources, and in the process had removed First Nations rights of access to capital markets, investment possibilities, and property ownership outside the reserves. Prince insisted that the traditional Crown treaties with the First Nations should be honoured and respected, and that the Crown treaties should form the basis of a new system for First Nations peoples. Tommy Prince's grandfather Chief Henry Prince had been a principal negotiator and signatory of Treaty 1 and Treaty 2 in Manitoba. The treaty rights had been absorbed into the Indian Act and were administered by a federal government department, the Department of Indian Affairs, on behalf of the First Nations, often with poor results. The leases and development of First Nations mineral resources were awarded to private companies owned by non-First Nations venture capitalists outside the reserves.

While Prince succeeded in obtaining several revisions to the Indian Act, removing some of the more offensive and outdated provisions of the Act, little fundamental restructuring followed immediately from the 1946 deliberations.  It would not be until 1959 that First Nations members obtained the right to vote in Canadian elections without any conditions by an amendment passed by the Canadian Parliament, a revision made with a different political party in power in Ottawa. Beginning in 1960, First Nations men and women could vote no matter where they lived, without having to renounce their Indian status to vote.

In the Parliamentary deliberations with respect to the Indian Act and possible amendments, Prince made a positive and powerful impression during the committee meetings, his arguments cogent and well-organized. Government officials considered offering him a position with the Department of Indian Affairs. However, Prince's opposition to the Indian Act was in conflict with government policy, and in the end, no job offer eventuated. In later decades, the Canadian government would come to accept a policy of eventually phasing out the Indian Act, while at the same time affirming the traditional First Nations treaty rights as supported by Supreme Court of Canada rulings. These later developments would constitute belated vindication of Prince's position on the issues.

Frustrated with the red tape of Ottawa, he returned to Winnipeg to discover that his cleaning business had folded in his absence because the friends Prince had entrusted to operate it had crashed the truck and sold the parts as scrap metal and had also sold the supplies and equipment, pocketing the money. Prince worked in lumber camps and a concrete factory to make ends meet.

He also continued to work on occasion with the Manitoba Indian Association and when a tribe in northern Manitoba was in trouble for violating provincial hunting regulations, Prince successfully interceded for them in representations to the Manitoba government.

Korean War

Night Assaults
In August 1950 Prince returned to the Canadian Army to fight with the United Nations troops in the Korean War. "I owed something to my friends who died" in WWII, he stated. Re-instated to his previous rank of sergeant, Prince was now a member of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), the first Canadian battalion to be assigned active duty in the war zone.

In February 1951 the Patricia's joined the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade on the battlefield. Prince was sergeant and second in command of his rifle platoon, and he soon resumed his special form of stealth missions. Shortly after his arrival in Korea he selected, trained and led an eight-man night "snatch patrol" into an enemy encampment under cover of darkness and with silent movements. The successful mission returned with two captured heavy machine guns taken from a position which had been heavily defended by Chinese soldiers. After seizing the guns, Prince and his men returned to the Canadian lines without alerting or arousing the enemy. The stealth tactics devised by Prince and executed by his special team resulted in the complete elimination of a strong Chinese defensive position in total silence, without firing any shots, while Prince and his force sustained no casualties. Prince went on to lead his special force on several more successful nocturnal demoralization raids against Chinese forces, again with the complete neutralization of enemy positions accomplished without the loss of any casualties by Prince's assaulting force. In 2022, a 2 PPCLI Korean War veteran credited Tommy Prince with saving his life due to the special training which Prince had given him.

However, while his company commanding officer was aware of Prince's renown as a nocturnal operative, the company CO was unfamiliar with and professed shock by Prince's bold methods of operation. Eventually the CO began to assign Prince to lead fewer patrols because he objected that they contained too many risks which could threaten the lives of the soldiers. However, the soldiers of the platoon were impressed with Prince's battlefield skills and were supportive of Prince in this disagreement. One military historian later concluded that there existed some jealousy between the officers and Prince because the men of the company respected Prince's fighting ability and his reputation. Prince's company commanding officer refused to nominate him for any awards or medals for masterminding and leading the extraordinary and successful night raids on Chinese positions. Prince prepared his own report of the dispute and submitted it to Lt. Col. James Stone, the battalion commander. Stone was a veteran of the WWII Italian campaign, where he had won fame with creative offensive tactics, sometimes receiving objections from his superior commanding generals.

Battle of Kapyong

Tommy Prince held a prominent role with the 2 PPCLI when it became the first Canadian unit awarded the United States Presidential Unit Citation for distinguished service in the Battle of Kapyong on 24-25 April, 1951. The battalion defended an important strategic position on Hill 677 despite heavy assault from Chinese forces. The Kapyong Valley provided a potential route for the enemy to encircle the U.S. forces in Korea. The Canadian 2 PPCLI, consisting of about 700 infantrymen and several machine guns, was opposed in the Kapyong River valley by a full Chinese division of 20,000 soldiers. Supporting UN forces initially consisted of a Royal  Australian Regiment infantry battalion, fifteen Sherman tanks from an American tank regiment, and two companies of U.S. artillery. However, the Australians were hurriedly withdrawn from the Kapyong battlefield after a fierce firefight with the attacking Chinese, who chased the Australians in hot pursuit. The American tanks came under heavy assault and retreated from the battlefield. Some of the American tanks fired upon the Canadians, wounding one man, before retreating from the battlefield. The two American artillery companies simply fled on foot without firing a single round, abandoning their big guns and mortars, equipment and 50 trucks loaded with ammunition to the enemy. The U.S. artillery companies hiked about ten miles to the east, apparently convinced that a major Chinese breakthrough was imminent at Kapyong.  Neither the Australians nor the Americans notified the Canadian forces of their sudden retreat, which left the Canadians encircled and alone in a two-day siege to hold the key position.

Brigadier Burke, who commanded the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, personally flew over the Canadian soldiers and shouted at them through a loudspeaker that they were now cut off and would receive no support. This action angered and unsettled the Canadian soldiers, who jeered Brigadier Burke as he flew away. Tommy Prince was credited with steadying and motivating many of the nervous young Canadians who voiced a desire to run in the face of overwhelming odds of about 30 to 1. The Canadian battalion commander Lt. Col. James Stone ordered his men to fight in a last stand with the words, "No retreat, no surrender."

The fighting was fierce and often hand-to-hand with bayonets, the Chinese gaining access to the summit of Hill 677 through the numerous ravines along the sides of the 2,000 ft. hill. Thousands of Chinese soldiers swarmed the Canadian positions, with the Canadians running low on ammunition. The Canadian unit would twice take shelter in their shallow trenches scraped from the rocky ground and call in supporting long-distance artillery fire from 4.5 miles away targeted directly onto their own locations. The forward platoons of the 2 PPCLI were completely overrun by mass attacks of Chinese soldiers. The 2 PCCLI, with their ammunition and supplies exhausted, managed to  repel the attacks and the Chinese division withdrew with enormous casualties of over 3,000 Chinese soldiers killed and many more wounded during the assaults on Hill 677.  By contrast, the 2 PPCLI suffered 12 killed and 35 wounded. The Chinese leadership were not aware of how close to victory they had achieved against the Canadians, who were now without ammunition and supplies, and did not launch a final large-scale assault against the Canadian positions. The enemy division withdrew on 25 April well before Brigadier Burke sent any UN relief forces to Hill 677 on 26 April.

Second Battle of the Hook
Prince's wartime duty was taking a toll on his body, and his knees were subject to painful swelling and premature arthritis. He was hospitalized after a medical examination in May 1951. He was later returned to Canada, despite his vigorous protest, and assigned to administrative duties where he served as a platoon sergeant at The Officer Candidate School Canadian Forces Base Borden in Ontario. Here his knees improved, so in March 1952 he volunteered for a second tour of duty in the Far East. He sailed for Korea that October with the 3rd Battalion PPCLI.

Though the battalion was officially still training in November 1952, when Chinese forces attacked a vital sector on the Sami-chon River known as "the Hook" the 3rd PPCLI was called to assist British UN forces in the Second Battle of the Hook to recover the exposed forward position. The Patricia's had five members killed in the daylight counter-attack, but were able to recapture the post by November 19. Prince was among the nine wounded in the battalion with some shrapnel wounds to his legs, although he continued to fight until the outpost was retaken by Prince and his men. Prince refused evacuation for medical treatment, stating "I don't have time for that.", evidently unwilling to abandon his position at the outpost. He removed shrapnel from his legs with his bayonet by himself. Despite his wounds, he carried another wounded 3 PCCLI soldier on his back to the military medical station. Although he recovered from these wounds, he was hospitalized for several weeks in early 1953 for treatment on his knees. The armistice was signed during this period.

Following the Korean Armistice Agreement, he remained in the army, working as an instructor of new recruits in Winnipeg, Manitoba, until his honorable discharge on October 28, 1953. He continued to work at a personnel depot in Winnipeg until September 1954. He was granted a small military disability pension due to his injured knees.

Korean War Awards
Prince's  company commanding officers in Korea refused to nominate him for any individual award or medal for devising and leading the successful silent night assaults against Chinese forces in April 1951, or for leading his men in the recovery of the exposed UN forward position in the Second Battle of The Hook in November 1952.

In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation for the Battle of Kapyong, Prince and his fellow 2 PPCLI members were mentioned in the December 2016 designation of Lt. Col. Stone as an official Korean War Hero by the Government of South Korea Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. The citation of this award stated that the 2 PPCLI "achieved a milestone victory when they won the Battle of Gapyeong (Kapyong) against formidable attacks from Chinese troops" and that "with their victory in the Battle of Gapyeong (Kapyong), Stone and his soldiers are remembered as the Legends of Gapyeong to this day." Prince additionally received the Korea Medal (Canadian version) and the United Nations Korea Medal for his service. He was entitled, posthumously, to the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea after it was created in 1991.

Later Life

Access to Government Programs
Adjusting to civilian life was not easy for Prince after World War II and Korea, and with painfully arthritic knees as a result of the long, harsh conditions during his military service, his capabilities were limited. Although he had been granted a small military disability pension due to his knee injuries, as a First Nations member he was unable to access other programs. Prince was effectively denied access to the special Canadian armed forces WWII veteran benefits programs, which included WWII veterans employment programs, WWII veterans educational support, land purchase support for WWII military veterans, and supplementary income support programs for WWII veterans. The information and application forms for these programs were available only at local Royal Canadian Legion chapters. First Nations members were forbidden entrance to Royal Canadian Legion locations under the terms of the Indian Act, as alcohol was present on Legion premises. For this reason, Royal Canadian Legion chapters maintained their own bylaws forbidding the presence of First Nations members due to alcohol on the premises. These bylaws were formally removed nation-wide in 1966, some 20 years after the end of WWII. The requirement by the government to access special war veterans programs solely through Royal Canadian Legion premises, where First Nations veterans were forbidden entrance, appears to have been designed as a ruse to exclude First Nations from participation.

Reduced Circumstances
After his active military service ended in 1953, Prince married Verna Sinclair, with whom he had five children. At the same time, Prince found a permanent position at a Winnipeg ice cream factory. However, partly due to discrimination against Native people at the time, Prince occasionally encountered hostility from his co-workers who were not aware of his military achievements. Prince never used his military record to promote his interests in civilian life, even with his own family and friends. Although the ice cream plant owner supported him, Prince eventually left the position, unable to tolerate the personal barbs.  This occupational failure changed his personal outlook on society in general.

In June 1955 Tommy Prince made the news for his heroism in saving a man from drowning in the Red River at the Alexander Docks in Winnipeg, using an army "stranglehold" to drag the struggling, resisting man to safety. Afterwards he quietly and humbly walked away before the media could descend on the scene. However, a bystander had recognized him and gave Prince's name to the police and also to the newspapers. In an interview resulting from this, Prince explained his decision to intervene, "I knew how I'd have felt if I were in the water unable to swim and someone just stood looking at me, not doing a thing."

His life became increasingly difficult, ultimately ending in his estrangement from his family due to financial problems. Prince and his wife separated in 1964 and his children were placed in foster homes. The movement of his children to different foster homes over short periods of time made it difficult for him to keep in touch with them, although his daughter Beryl remained in one foster home and he visited her every month.  Unlike other famous Canadian war heroes who also struggled in their civilian lives after the war ended, Prince was not assisted by well-off friends or offered positions by the government. His advocacy on behalf of First Nations and against the Indian Act had placed him as an opponent of prevailing government policies of the day.

He spiraled into a depression, and like many war veterans, he experienced post battle stress symptoms and combat nightmares which caused him to awaken in a sweat and in terror. His personal life continued to deteriorate with alcoholism and homelessness. Winnipeg police officers knew him personally and also of his heroic war service, and would refuse to hold him for intoxication or vagrancy, instead providing transport to a Salvation Army facility.  His final years were spent virtually alone, living in a Salvation Army hostel room 6' by 8' and subsisting on temporary employment such as janitorial labour. Prince's son Tommy Prince Jr. and his girlfriend offered to accommodate his father at their own address, but Prince declined, not wanting to be a burden on his family.

Through courage and perseverance, Prince eventually overcame his alcoholism and would later give coherent media interviews and reminiscences of his military deeds. In order to support himself, he sold off his war medals. Despite his straitened finances, Prince remained generous to others and would give cash to people whom he judged to be worse off than himself.

Prince would attend the annual Remembrance Day reunions with his PPCLI comrades-in-arms. Claude Petit, a former fellow soldier from the Korean War, later stated that he was aware of Prince's struggles. Petit believed that "someone should have done something...especially the regiment...he spent his life in there, that's all he knew."

On one occasion at night in 1976 on the Winnipeg streets, Prince was assaulted and beaten by a street gang who were unaware of his identity. Later, in another incident, he was stabbed by a young man who had mistaken him for another First Nations man whom he had been targeting. These serious acts of violence  possibly contributed to Prince's demise the following year at the age of 62.

Provincial State Funeral
He died in 1977 at Winnipeg's Deer Lodge Centre, a health care facility specializing in geriatric care and treatment of veterans, and was interred in Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg. Despite the reduced circumstances of his later years, he had retained his fame and he was given a  provincial state funeral, a notable event with significant official representatives and more than 500 people in attendance. At his state funeral service, a delegation from the Princess Patricia's Brigade served as his pallbearers. A group of men from the Saulteaux nation sang the "Death of a Warrior" song while his body was lowered into the grave. The PPCLI officer in charge of the military funeral service presented Prince's daughter Beverley Prince with the folded flag which had been draped over Tommy Prince's coffin. Official representatives included the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba on behalf of The Crown, senior officers of the Canadian Army, and the Consuls of France, of Italy and of the United States representing the respect for Prince of those nations. Prince's daughters Beryl and Beverley Prince were astonished at the impressive public response at the funeral of a man who had subsisted on menial jobs during his later years and they wondered where public officials had been during Prince's years of struggle with war wounds and unemployment. Prince had never discussed his war record with his daughters, and they were unaware of his status as a public hero before the funeral.

Honours and legacy
In 1976, one year before his death, Tommy Prince was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood (currently Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs) "for his years of dedicated service to the Indian people of Manitoba." Prince once stated later in his life, "All my life I had wanted to do something to help my people recover their good name."

Since his passing, a number of honours have been bestowed in his name. Some of them are:

 Sgt. Tommy Prince Street – Winnipeg, Manitoba
 Sgt. Tommy Prince School – Scanterbury, Manitoba
 The "Tommy Prince Barracks" at Canadian Forces Base, Petawawa, Ontario
 The "Tommy Prince Drill Hall" at the 3rd Canadian division Training Center in Wainwright, Alberta
 Government of Canada "Sergeant Tommy Prince Army Training Initiative" for aboriginal recruiting
 The "Tommy Prince Award": An Assembly of First Nations scholarship
 The "Tommy Prince Scholarship" at Sault College, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
 553 Sgt. Tommy Prince PPCLI Cadet Corps, Winnipeg, Manitoba
 Tommy Prince Road in the Valour Park/Victoria Cross Park – a mixed-use development of Currie Barracks in Calgary, Alberta (2010)
 Tom Prince Drive - Petersfield, Manitoba

In 1968, a major Hollywood film entitled "The Devil's Brigade" was produced, although Tommy Prince, the most decorated member of the Brigade, was not represented in the story line. Early in the film, an American soldier was featured in a soldier gambling scene, whose nickname was "Chief", perhaps a weak reference to Prince and his royal ancestry.

In 1998, the television documentary "Fallen Hero: The Tommy Prince Story" was aired and was nominated for three Leo Awards.
The film is available on loan from the Canadian War Museum and from various university libraries.

After Prince's death, his military medals changed hands several times before coming up for auction in 2000 in London, Ontario. His nephew, Jim Bear, organized a pledge drive and purchased the medals on August 10, 2000 for $75,000 on the third bid, an extraordinary bid level for military medals at the time. The bid was backed by pledges from Aboriginal groups, by the Royal Canadian Legion, and by the Canadian government Veterans Affairs Canada Minister Ron Duhamel, the latter two organizations now offering some form of support to the Prince family. The Prince war medals were verified as originals by the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Bear then entrusted them for permanent display purposes to the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg, the medals remaining the property of the Prince family.

In 2002, the French Ambassador to Canada presented the Prince family with an official certificate from the Government of France acknowledging the bravery and contributions of Tommy Prince to the French people and to their freedom from German occupation during WWII.

In 2004, the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba unanimously passed a resolution honouring and recognizing Prince "for his contribution and sacrifice to both Canada and to the Province of Manitoba".

In 2005 Historica Canada released a Heritage Minute on Prince.

On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Canadian actor Adam Beach, who is (like Prince) a Manitoban of the Ojibwe and Salteaux nations, would portray the Canadian war hero in an upcoming movie about his life. Beach had previously portrayed Ira Hayes in the Clint Eastwood film Flags of Our Fathers. According to Bay Film Studios, the movie would be a "true account of Canada's most highly decorated First Nations soldier".  Beach, 37, said he was honoured to play Prince, calling him a positive role model for all First Nations. The Canadian Armed Forces agreed to participate in the production of the film. The film was later reported delayed by reshooting of scenes and the film studio in bankruptcy.

In 2013, the United States Congress passed a bill to award the 1st Special Service Force the Congressional Gold Medal.

In 2016, a play about Prince by playwright Alanis King, "Tommy Prince Story", was published and critically acclaimed.

In 2016, a plaque honouring Tommy Prince was installed in the main floor of the Legislative Building of the Province of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In 2019, Tommy Prince was named one of the Persons of National Historic Significance of Canada, on the advice of the national Historic Sites & Monuments Board of Canada.

In November, 2019, a Bravery In Arms documentary was produced of the First Special Service Force assault on Monte Majo, in which Prince's unparalleled forward combat achievement had prepared the way for a strategically crucial action. In the documentary, Prince's accomplishment was described while showing the actual location of the battle.

In June 2020, a group of Conservative Party of Canada Members of Parliament started a petition and sent a letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem advocating for Prince's face to be displayed on the Canadian $5 bill.

On 17 October 2022 it was announced that Tommy Prince would be the subject of a postage stamp to be issued 28 October 2022, by Canada Post. The stamp shows Prince in his 2 PPCLI uniform from his Korean War period with a background of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), his name with the designation MM (Military Medal), his decorations and mention of the Silver Star. The official presentation ceremony of the Tommy Prince postage stamp was attended and featured speeches by Prince's son Tommy Prince Jr. and by singer Willam Prince, a cousin of the family, who sang a song by Buffy Sainte Marie at the event.

References

Further reading
 Manitobans in Profile: Thomas George Prince, 1981, Penguin Publishers

External links
Prince, Tommy in the Canadian Encyclopedia
Tommy Prince, Canadian Hero, feature article at the Youth Encyclopedia of Canada
Heritage Minute video featuring Tommy Prince

1915 births
1977 deaths
20th-century First Nations people
Burials at Brookside Cemetery (Winnipeg)
Canadian Indigenous military personnel
Canadian Army personnel of World War II
Canadian military personnel of the Korean War
Recipients of the Silver Star
Canadian recipients of the Military Medal
People from Interlake Region, Manitoba
Saulteaux people
Royal Canadian Engineers soldiers
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry soldiers
Canadian military personnel from Manitoba
Foreign recipients of the Silver Star
1st Canadian Parachute Battalion


Bring your canoe or kayak, this beautiful home backs up to Church Creek and has spectacular marsh views. There is a deck in the back, some neighbors have docks and the owner did have a dock permit but didn't build. This custom built home is situated at the end of a cul-de-sac on a very quiet street. This is a one owner home that has been meticulously cared for. The great room, dining room and kitchen have hardwood floors, there are granite counter tops in the kitchen. It features a large master with a jetted tub and walk in closet. The 2nd and 3rd bedrooms also have walk in closets. The 2nd bathroom has a huge vanity area. Enjoy relaxing on the screened in porch as you watch the wildlife. If you enjoy nature and a nice, shady backyard this is one you must see.


text:
Commissioners on trial: Who are these names mentioned in court?
BY DAVID SINGLETON (STAFF WRITER) / Published: June 13, 2011
Cordaro/Munchak Case
Complete archive of past articles on the Cordaro and Munchak corruption case. (read more)
Click here to Read the second superseding indictment (pdf)
Click here to Read the first superseding indictment (pdf)
Click here to read the original indictment (pdf)
The names all came up multiple times last week at the public corruption trial of former Commissioner Robert C. Cordaro and Commissioner A.J. Munchak.
John Grow. Paul Taramelli. Glenn Gress.
Some of the references were pointed; others, tangential.
With attorneys on both sides zealously protective of the identities of their prospective witnesses, it is unclear whether any or all of the three will be called to testify at the trial, which enters its second week today at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse. The prosecution is scheduled to resume presenting its case at 9:30 a.m.
Although Mr. Grow, Mr. Taramelli and Mr. Gress apparently had relatively bit roles in what prosecutors are painting as a broad pay-to-play scheme devised by Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak, they were players nonetheless.
So who are these guys?
John Grow
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lorna Graham brought up Mr. Grow as she questioned John J. Contino, executive director of the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission, about the annual financial interest statements filed by Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak as commissioners from 2003 to 2007.
Ms. Graham asked if the statements disclosed income or gifts from any of 16 individuals who prosecutors say gave bribes or kickbacks to the former majority commissioners. They did not, Mr. Contino testified.
Included on Ms. Graham's list, among better-known figures such as West Scranton funeral director Al Hughes and former Acker Associates executive P.J. McLaine, was Mr. Grow. The government alleges he gave $500 to Mr. Munchak in 2003 in exchange for a future appointment to the county Multi-Purpose Stadium Authority.
Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak named Mr. Grow to the authority board in January 2004, just weeks after they took office as majority commissioners. He was the authority's chairman in 2005 when it awarded a no-bid contract for stadium food and beverage concessions to Mr. Gress and Mr. Hughes, Cordaro supporters who were partners in Concessions Plus Inc.
His stint as chairman lasted only three months. He resigned immediately after the award of the CPI contract.
In a 2009 interview with The Times-Tribune, Mr. Grow said he had been questioned by the FBI and IRS about his relationship with the commissioners and the no-bid contract. He also said he resigned from the authority because Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Taramelli, the county chief of staff, "were doing things and I was finding out about them later."
"It was basically being run out of the commissioners office," Mr. Grow said of the authority. "Things were going to be run their way."
Paul Taramelli
As Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak's chief of staff, Mr. Taramelli wielded more power over the day-to-day operations of county government than anyone other than the Republican commissioners themselves. His influence certainly trumped that of the minority commissioner.
His name popped up several times in testimony last week.
When he was told in 2006 to sign off on a $258,000 no-bid contract for construction of a communications tower at the new 911 center in Jessup - a project from which another witness said Mr. Cordaro secretly collected $14,000 - emergency services director Thomas Dubas testified the directive "to the best of my recollection" came from Mr. Taramelli.
"When there was a question, Paul was the person you would go to for answers," Mr. Dubas said.
Thomas Durkin, the county chief financial officer who served as treasurer of the Friends of Munchak and Cordaro campaign committee, testified when Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak were running for office in 2003, the committee's registered chairman was Mr. Cordaro's brother, Ronald.
But he said Mr. Taramelli filled the position "as a practical matter," leading into his appointment as chief of staff after the election.
"The chief of staff is essentially the eyes and ears of the commissioners," Mr. Durkin said of Mr. Taramelli's responsibilities.
Mr. Taramelli acknowledged in 2009 he had testified the previous year before a federal grand jury investigating his former bosses. In addition, he was interviewed on multiple occasions by the FBI.
Mr. Taramelli said most of the questions posed by investigators concerned Charles "Chuckie" Costanzo, a childhood friend of Mr. Cordaro who is serving a federal prison sentence for stealing almost $650,000 from the county workers' compensation fund. But he was also quizzed about Mr. Cordaro's lifestyle and the awarding of contracts for professional services.
Glenn Gress
In addition to a mention of his association with the no-bid stadium concession contract, Mr. Gress' name entered the trial in another context: as a participant in the 911 tower deal.
Both Mr. Hughes, who partnered with Mr. Gress on Concessions Plus, and attorney Thomas Cummings identified the businessman as partners with them and Mr. McLaine in an enterprise known as John Brayfee LLC, which was awarded the no-bid contract to build the tower by Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak.
According to Mr. Cummings, he invested $500 in startup funds for the venture, as did both Mr. Gress and Mr. McLaine. Mr. Hughes chipped in $1,000.
When the project was complete and the time came to split up the profits, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Gress and Mr. McLaine each received $14,000, Mr. Cummings testified. Mr. Hughes got $28,000 - $14,000 for him and, according to his testimony, $14,000 for Mr. Cordaro.
Mr. Gress, who contributed more than $25,000 to Mr. Cordaro and Mr. Munchak's election campaigns, said in a 2009 interview that he had been questioned by investigators about the concession contract.
"They wanted to know if we gave Bobby (Cordaro) anything for that. … Absolutely not," Mr. Gress said at the time.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Resurrection is a family minded, Spirit-filled, Jesus-focused church. We are a group of people taking our next steps toward Jesus together. God's vision for us is to be a reproducing, discipling church that serves in our communtiy. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14 ESV).


U6 Ponies is an In-house program offered by United Parishes to introduce pre-school & Kindergarteners to the games of soccer. The program is offered during the Fall & Spring seasons. Practices and games are both held on Saturday mornings.
Parents and Coaches are invited to submit photos and videos that they would like to share on the website.
Games are held on Saturdays at Saint Joseph York Fields located behind the school on Kingston Road.
Practice starts at 8:30 am.
The first 30 minutes is a practice session and the next 30 minutes are the game.
Games are played with 6 minute quarters including a 5 minute half time.
Please make sure your children have a size 3 soccer ball, pair of shin guards, and a bottle of water for each practice/game.
Socks shall cover the shin guards to help prevent injury.
Cleats are recommended but not required at this level of play.
Coaches will have a snack schedule available for you to sign up for a date.
The kids typically love apples, oranges, grapes or a treat (cookies, crackers, etc) and a drink. Please cut-up apples and oranges into mouth size pieces.
Individual and team pictures are professionally taken early in the Fall season.
Arrive 15-20 minutes early to setup.
Ensure that the road between the fields and the playground is blocked so no cars can travel on that road. Use cones/rope from shed.
Ensure all kids get play time.
Games are played in four 6 minute quarters, with a 5 minute half time.
Games should be 3 v 3.
Discuss with other coach if you will be attempting throw ins.
Coaches can walk the field to help during the game.
Recommend to parents that children should bring their own: size 3 ball, water bottle, & wear shin guards.
Parents should help provide after game snack.
Quick Tips: Animals Find Your Home from Eastern Penn. Youth Soccer on Vimeo.
Quick Tips: 4 Goal Game from Eastern Penn. Youth Soccer on Vimeo.
Quick Tips: Wrap Up from Eastern Penn. Youth Soccer on Vimeo.
Quick Tips: Coach Says from Eastern Penn. Youth Soccer on Vimeo.


Why were there so many people on a Tuesday? Because kids are out of school? Because the Rays recently moved into first place, and this was their first home game after the All-Star break? Because everyone else wanted to see Heath Bell too?
Have you ever seen anything like that?! Michael said he snagged it during batting practice earlier this season, and he made a good point: the double-logo can't be the result of another ball hitting it because then there'd be a mirror image. Somehow, this fantastic defect must have occurred during the stamping process at the Rawlings factory in Costa Rica.
As you can see in the photo above, the lines went all the way back past the bag check area and into the parking lot. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the lines were longer here (for a regular-season weeknight game) than at Citi Field for the Home Run Derby. I don't get it, but hey, good for the Rays.
During that brief window of time, I got J. J. Putz to throw me a ball.
In the photo above, do you see the guy crouching in the front row? That's a friend of mine named Andy — more on him in a bit.
Ten minutes into BP, I got a ball tossed by Brad Ziegler (which I handed to the nearest kid), and soon after that, I got another toss-up from Brandon McCarthy.
In the photo above, do you see the kid in the gray cap on the right? He's the one who tossed it to me, and yes, I decided to count it in my collection. I asked him if he was connected to the Diamondbacks in any way, and he told me that his father works for the team. I resisted the urge to ask who his father is, but later on I saw him sitting next to Derrick Hall in the front row behind the dugout. Pretty cool.
I spent the next half-hour with Andy, Eve, and Michael . . . and Michael's father Paul — a great bunch of folks. I feel lucky to have gotten to know so many nice people in various baseball cities.
For righties, I moved here . . .
Here's something random for you . . .
Running full-speed into metal armrests isn't fun.
Early in the game, in between batters, I heard some thunder that was so loud and perfect that I wondered if it was a stadium sound effect. Then I heard it again during an at-bat and realized that there was, indeed, a powerful storm in the area. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, the lights flickered and then dimmed slightly, and I knew right away that the game was going to be delayed. The only question was . . . how long would it last?
I said a quick hello as he walked past, and we made a plan to meet near the dugout after the final out.
The Rays ended up winning, 5-2, behind a 102-pitch, complete-game effort by "Fausberto," as Andy calls him.
Our conversation didn't last long. Mainly, I wanted to let him know that I'll be at Chase Field on August 12th and 13th, speaking of which . . . I now have three more stadium visits planned. I'll be at Dodger Stadium on August 9th and 11th (and maybe also on the 10th, which is a Saturday afternoon Hideo Nomo Bobblehead giveaway, so I'm tempted to skip it and relax). Then I'll be heading to Chase Field, and after that, I'll be in Oakland for two games on August 14th and 15th. Given my challenge from the folks at BIGS to snag a gamer at each stadium, it's much better when I can be at a place for more than one day. Many thanks to BIGS for making all of this happen. Visiting these stadiums never gets old, and even though I sometimes complain, I'm constantly grateful.
Goodbye, Florida. I won't miss you.
• 406 balls in 54 games this season = 7.52 balls per game.
• 29 balls at 4 lifetime games at Tropicana Field = 7.25 balls per game.
I will see you in Phoenix on 8/13!
You might wanna get ur "injury" checked out. it might be serious cause of the discoloration. Anyway, u made a great effort for that 3rd out ball. Im impressed.
Good job on the gamer. Quick question though who on the Cincinnati reds is good about giving baseballs out. Good luck on the west coast.
Good job Zack! I almost see you at Atlanta(I'm going to be there on August 9-10). Guess i'll have to go to New York to see you(You have to sign your 3 books that I have from you). Good luck for the 8 remaining stadiums!
Was michael's stamped as a "practice" ball?
Do they still have that joke of a rule where you're not allowed in the 1st row of the outfield sections during BP?
You think that trying to get into the Trop was bad. How did you go trying to get home after ? When we saw a series against the damn Yankees , the job of getting to the bus after the game can only be described as a nightmare. Anyway , good to see the fans showing up ( finally ). Go Rays !!!
I went to The Trop over a winter break a few years ago and asked for a tour. They thought I was insane.( which can be argued) Everywhere else I've gone you can get a tour, anytime during the year, and they are happy to do it. The guys running the Rays know very little about customer satisfaction, in my opinion.
Last time I went to the Trop and did BP this season they were still enforcing the "no front row" rule. I'm sorry you didn't snag your usual numbers, but at least it confirmed to me that it is indeed a bad park for hawking. And the ever-escalating prices added to the drive time for me from Orlando cuts down on my inclination to go there more than a few times a season. Especially with Spring Training and the far-more-economical minor league and college summer league teams in the state.
I'm looking forward to seeing you in Oakland this year! I'll be there on the 14th, but not the 15th, it looks like. The Coliseum has been tough this year, its been more crowded than I expected, but hey, the A's are the 5th best team in Major League Baseball! I don't know if you heard, but for the rest of the season, the A's are opening the gates 2.5 hours early on Fridays only. Other times are still the same. Now, A's fans actually get to see their team take BP. Of course, there are only 5 more times that it will take place. They did this all because Yoenis Cespedes won the HR Derby. So… for Yoenis Cespedes bobblehead day, on August 17th, the gates will open THREE AND A HALF HOURS EARLY. Yes. 2:30pm for a 6pm game.
Thanks very much for the comments. I read them all, but don't have time to respond now. I need to hurry off to Turner Field. More later . . .
I hated my visit to Tropicana Field earlier this year as well. The security and ushers were applying rules that shouldn't have been there. Good luck the rest of this season, though!
Thanks. My eye seems to be okay, but it's still ugly as hell.
Which game? I was at Citi on August 2nd.
That's not a quick question because I had to go look at the roster. Mat Latos is the worst. Sam LeCure is the best.
Sorry to miss you. Hope to see you in NYC, and of course I'd be delighted to sign your books.
Yeah, it did have the "practice" stamp.
No, unfortunately I won't be there, but I hope we can catch up some other time.
It's not a fun area. After a few minutes of waiting/confusion, I was able to find an electric "green" taxi with a top speed of 20 miles per hour to drive me back to my hotel.
That's funny and lame. Jeez.
Very interesting to hear that. I suspect you speak for a LOT of fans. The Rays could/should do a lot more to entice folks to show up.
Just read it. You're goooood. Really. Thanks.
Well, dang. Now I wish I were gonna be there on a Friday, but silly me, I decided to avoid that day because I figured it would be crowded. Anyway, see you soon!
Sorry you had a crappy time there, but I'm glad that we at least agree.
It's definitely tough, but somehow I'm still able to pull it off. Thanks for your weighty advice. I do intend/hope to stay thin.
I've only been to 1 Friday game this year, and it was against the Rangers this past week. It was the first time I ever got to see A's BP in it's entirety and I was not impressed. The Rangers didn't hit much out either. If you are able to I would recommend extending your trip in Oakland by a day, so you can get in the Friday game vs the Indians. From what I've personally seen, plus what I've heard from others, the crowds have been very manageable, so knowing you, it could wind up being great for you!


Potassium hydrogen sulfite or potassium bisulfite is a chemical compound with the chemical formula KHSO3. It is used during the production of alcoholic beverages as a sterilising agent.
Sodium bisulfite (sodium hydrogen sulfite) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula NaHSO3. Sodium bisulfite is a food additive with E number E222. Sodium bisulfite can be prepared by bubbling sulfur dioxide in a solution of sodium carbonate in water.


I thought a lot about the title of this blog. Miscarriage seems like an ugly, loaded, and antiquated word. It makes it sound like someone made a mistake, like they dropped something they were carrying. The fact that I am still processing though, is that last Thursday, we learned of our miscarriage.
We started out that Thursday feeling pretty good. We were in our 10th week of pregnancy. We'd been reading the books. A few weeks ago the books said our embryo had grown limblets and they were starting to make "fluttery movements". Later, we read about how there should be finger pads, then about how the embryo was a fetus, and the difference was that there was no tail anymore. By the time last Thursday rolled around, we had a good idea of what we expected our fetus to be. We were excited that day, because we had an appointment with our maternity doctor, and we were hoping to get a date for an ultrasound.
That morning, though, Julie had a tiny bit of spotting. The maternity doctor told us that there was still a pretty good chance everything was okay. I had heard that this was actually fairly common, and wasn't alarmed at all until the doctor mentioned that about 50% of the time everything is fine. Needless to say, I didn't like those odds. She said this as she was putting the velcro cuff on Julie's arm to take her blood pressure. I think it was a testament to Julie's calm demeanour that her blood pressure was fine. If you had taken mine at that moment, it would have been off the charts.
The doctor had a little gizmo for listening to the heartbeat of the fetus. We listened quietly but she couldn't find it. She reassured us that at this stage that is very common. She put together a requisition for an ultrasound. We got in the same day.
I couldn't tell what I was seeing on the ultrasound screen. The silence in the room, however, told me something wasn't right. Julie said she knew right away. After a few minutes of poking and probing, the technician told us to wait for the radiologist, who would go over the results with us.
The results were not good. My eyes and ears were working, and I remember hearing the radiologist say that at this stage, the size of the fetus was about 3 weeks behind.
That there was no heart.
That it was missing other organs.
That it wasn't a viable pregnancy.
But, my mind wasn't really taking this in. I learned later that neither was Julie's. I was jumping right in to stage 1 of the grieving process, denial. The radiologist and technician told us about some of our options from here, but I don't think either of us really took those in, either. I was just thinking, there has got to be some way this can work. Maybe the dates were misinterpreted. Maybe we conceived later in the month they were thinking. By the time we got back to the car to drive away though, the fact was starting to sink in. We were not going to be expecting a child on May 11, which was the due date we had been looking forward to.
I have wanted a family for a long time. When we first saw the blue cross on the pregnancy test in the first week of September, I was beside myself. The emotional part of my brain was doing back flips and an interpretive dance that the conscious part of my brain could only really understand as some crazy mixture of happiness, love, fear, and confusion, but mostly happiness. Julie remarked that week that I was smiley. I felt smiley. I'd think about all the things that were coming down the pipe. First words. First steps. The day in day out. Not wanting to eat broccoli. Appreciating swings and jungle gyms again, and in a new way. Packing lunches. The stuff that I have no way of anticipating. The whole kit and kaboodle.
So, Thursday, it became clear that this was not not a viable pregnancy. Having a child was not going to happen, at least, not this time.
I felt a range of emotions. Mostly sadness. Also some anger. Anger at what, I do not know. The nearest I can tell, it was at the heartless little fetus. After weeks of doing my best to imagine that little critter in Julie's belly, with the fluttery limblets and the finger pads, I came to learn it was all a lie. There was only the imagined idea of those things, it never actually existed. It's like that heartless little jerk just informed me there was no Santa Claus, or that my friends were just pretending to like me, or something like that.
Which, I might add, feels pretty terrible.
And, I am told, anger is another stage of the grieving process.
Another thing we've now learned, is that the loss of the child is not the end of miscarriage woes. There were several options we could choose from to move forward from there, and none of them seemed too pleasant. Right now, Julie is going under general anesthetic to have the remnants of the pregnancy removed. I am sitting next to the bed she'll be returned to when she wakes up. Anything I am going through right now is peanuts compared to what she has been having to do.
It's Saturday now, and it's a relief that it's happening. We've been waiting since Thursday. Because Julie wasn't supposed eat before the procedure, she'd been skipping meals until a call would come to let us know it wouldn't be for another 12 hours, so it'd be safe to eat supper.
I'm glad she's in there now. I'm glad I live in Canada where I have access to the excellent team we have been working with, and the only thing I have to worry about financially is the parking fee. I'm glad that when Julie comes back to the bed I am sitting next to, it will be over. Overall, though, glad does not describe my state of mind.
I have learned, however, a few things that are meaningful and useful to me through this process.
Soon after we learned we were pregnant, I was working out of town in Toronto and Las Vegas for about 3 weeks. Usually when I am doing this, I am very busy, and finding time to call Julie is difficult. In the past, on these long distance phone conversations when she has been telling me about her day and I am waiting for my turn to tell her about mine, I have grown impatient. I'd think, "she has no idea how important the work I am doing here is".
In the grand scheme of things though, it's not that important. It seems that way, the total budgets for the corporate events I work at frequently tally in the millions for just a few days, and the scale of them is incredible, and everyone involved is usually dialed up to 10. It's show biz.
This last trip was different though. When I was talking to Julie and she was telling me about doctor's appointments and how big the embryo should be at this stage etc, all I could think about was how unimportant this conference was. It meant nothing to me compared to my love and concern for Julie, and this new family we were starting.
It occurred to me that I've probably always felt this way, but when you place yourself at the absolute centre of your universe, you lose perspective on things like that. Having a family to think about put me just to the side of the centre of my universe, and suddenly it became abundantly clear to me what is at the centre. While doing a good job and making sure I was happy with what I saw projected on the screens at the conference was still important, it wasn't nearly as important to me as what was happening at home.
This, I think, is the main reason I want a family. I want that perspective, and I want to have those relationships in my life. I am sure there are other ways to find that meaning, but this is the plainest and most obvious way I see to get that into my life.
And on Thursday, when we found out our pregnancy wasn't viable, and would have to be terminated, and everything seemed pretty bleak, Julie and I stuck together. I called the clients that I wasn't going to be able to make time for this week, and I told them their projects would have to wait for me. There was a temptation to dive into work mode so as to ignore some of the processing I have to do around the loss of our pregnancy. There was (and still is) the fear that the ramifications of putting them on the back-burner will bear poor results for my business.
But I knew (and still know) on a higher level what I needed to do. I needed to be there for Julie. I needed to let myself need her as well. The clients were very understanding, and the time lost from me on their projects will not cause the sky to fall. Julie and I need to stick together right now, and that's just how it has to be.
The most important thing I have learned through all of this is about my priorities. Family is coming in first. This is the way I like it. Nothing about losing this pregnancy has been good, but knowing what my priorities are, and that I like my priorities is a comfort, and this whole experience is helping me to be sure of what they are.
There is another thing I have learned. It's about secrets. When the blue cross showed up on that drugstore pregnancy test, I wanted to tell the world. I wanted to blog about it desperately. The thing is, that most people don't tell anyone. They keep their cards pretty close to their chest until the end of the 1st trimester. That would've been just a couple of weeks and change away for us, and in my mind I was composing the blog I'd write announcing our big news.
But, I thought, statistics show that the chances of a miscarriage are pretty high until the end of the first trimester. I wouldn't want to share the big news prematurely. In fact, I think part of the reason I haven't made any entries lately is because I couldn't imagine blogging without mentioning this really, really big event in my life.
All that said, here I am, blogging about the miscarriage. Moments ago, thinking about the title and whether or not to call it for what it is. The fact is, miscarriages happen to a lot of people, and while it is sad, I don't think it's shameful. In fact, if anyone cares enough to read this, that's a comfort. I don't want this very big experience I just had to be a secret. It's a really, really big drag. It's sad. It's also a fact, and a part of my story.
So, next time we see the blue cross, I'm not holding back. be prepared, if you are reading my blog, for the emotional roller coaster that is trying to have kids. We are going to keep trying, and we are going to succeed, one way or another. It is hard to see a bright spot in the future now, but to quote a line I heard in a movie last night, we have hope, "pure, naked, fragile hope". That's how it feels, naked and fragile and tender and vulnerable, but I am very happy that we have hope, and each other, in this rough time.


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HomeAlso in this issueOnline influence
Online influence
January 2017 Ontario Grain Farmer Also in this issue, Public Outreach Comments Off on Online influence
PHOTO: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: CATHERINE BELKNAP (CAT) AND NATALIE TELFER (NAT) WITH ANITA AND DARYL BURNETT ON THE BURNETT FARM NEAR BELWOOD, ONTARIO.
"STORYTELLING IS THE essential human activity. The harder the situation, the more essential it is." ~Tim O'Brien
Connecting with the non-farming public is often described as our greatest challenge in agriculture. One could also say, though, that it is our greatest opportunity. Grain Farmers of Ontario's Good in Every Grain campaign reaches millions of people across the province by telling authentic stories of Ontario's grain farmers. The campaign is delving deeper into the strategy of storytelling and is proud to be working with a powerful team of online content creators known as Cat & Nat.
Recognizing the power of trusted, popular voices in the public, Grain Farmers of Ontario is fostering long-term relationships with online influencers to create a personal connection to Ontario grain farmers and ultimately generate trust in grain farming. This strategy builds on the success of last year's media outreach with celebrities like Chris Soules and SciBabe, but endeavours to create a more lasting impact through a continuous content stream from consistent and trusted voices.
"We were looking for partners who could regularly talk to their followers about grains and farmers in an authentic way," says Meghan Burke, communications manager for Grain Farmers of Ontario. "We wanted to take these influencers on a journey, to explore and learn about grain farming firsthand and bring their followers along with them.
CHOOSING A PARTNER
There are countless voices online with just as many areas of focus. Grain Farmers of Ontario identified urban moms as a key target audience, as they are typically the primary grocery consumers in the household and often disconnected from agriculture. The ideal partner would have excellent reach, including mainstream media connections, and be favourable towards grains. It didn't take long for Cat & Nat (founders of The Social Common) to emerge as the perfect team to take this trek with us.
"We first met Cat & Nat in 2015 at our SciBabe blogger meet-and-greet event in Toronto," says Burke. "They impressed us with their tough questions about neonicotinoids and farming practices — they were open-minded, enthusiastic, and genuinely interested to learn from us."
Catherine Belknap and Natalie Telfer, otherwise known as Cat & Nat, are moms to seven kids under the age of seven, YouTubers, Facebook Live hosts, and media personalities. They are inquisitive, energetic, and likeable, evident by their online following. See chart on page 30.
They are also true partners, bringing many great ideas and suggestions to the program.
"Our partnership with Grain Farmers of Ontario has been unique since the beginning. We love that they are open to answering any and all questions we have, from the price of a sprayer to what exactly is a GMO and where and how are they used," says Belknap. "We realize that farmers often feel misunderstood, but it is great to see how open and proud they are to share details and facts about their lives and what it is they do in order to educate us and our audience."
"We also like the personal approach of this campaign," adds Telfer. "Visiting family-run farms and meeting some amazing farmers face-to-face has given us a greater appreciation of farmers and how hard they work. It has also given us a better understanding of how much we all have in common! The two of us thrive off of the freedom to create, so we love the fact that Grain Farmers of Ontario has been open to our ideas — from Facebook live videos to social posts and even videos with both farm kids and our own. Overall, the real openness has made the partnership eye-opening for both us city gals and the farmers."
Statistics show that more than 80 per cent of followers trust bloggers, whether the content is sponsored or not. For this program, both parties openly state that this relationship is paid for by Grain Farmers of Ontario. Where this program is unique, however, is that Grain Farmers of Ontario is not producing content for Cat & Nat, nor requiring Cat & Nat to post any specific messaging. The contract simply requires that they partake in farm tours and grain-related activities hosted by Grain Farmers of Ontario and then share their true experiences, learnings, and impressions with their followers.
"Some people felt it was risky for us to give Cat & Nat carte blanche on what messages and information they shared to their followers," says Burke. "We weren't concerned — we know that our farmer-members are outstanding people and that their care of the land and the crops would come through easily and the personal connections would happen naturally. We believed that, in order for Cat & Nat to be effective storytellers, they had to do it in their own way and with their own voices."
The program launched in late summer 2016 and will continue through to spring 2017. There are several components to the program including:
• three field trips to grain farms to explore a grain elevator, participate in soybean and corn harvest, identify end-use products in a grocery store, and much more
• ongoing social media posts on Twitter, Instagram and Instagram stories, Facebook and Facebook live, their vlog, and their blog
• mainstream media appearances to come this winter
Through the many elements of the program, Cat & Nat have emerged as true ambassadors for Ontario grains and their stories are connecting with their audience.
"Throughout our journey in motherhood and business, we share our experiences and the knowledge we've gained with our devoted audience of moms. Before we began our partnership with Grain Farmers of Ontario, we knew very little about the realities of farming and farm families. Throughout this partnership, we, along with our audience, have gained a real appreciation of farmers," says Belknap. "In learning about grain farmers and all that they do, we realize their importance and our strong need for them in our lives. We understand that farmers have to stay current with technology in order to provide us with the grains we need and use every day. And we've also learned just how much we have in common as hard-working families and entrepreneurs. It's fun to see how open our audience has been to learning about the farming industry with us!"
The audience impact is reflected in both the reach and the comments on social media.
By the numbers — posts to date through our program:
"We are already impressed with the reach and engagement we've experienced working with Cat & Nat — and we're only halfway through the program," says Burke. "We have many components to the program; at this stage of the relationship, the most exciting element has been the Facebook Live videos where we can interact with followers of Cat & Nat in real-time."
The first Facebook Live video was taken in a soybean field in Belwood, Ontario with farmers Daryl and Anita Burnett. Cat & Nat wanted to tackle the controversy around genetic modification (GMOs) early in the partnership and in a very direct manner. During the live segment, Cat, Nat, Anita, and Daryl talked openly about why farmers choose and use GMOs. They also engaged the audience in a fun game showing various household products and guessing which grain it contains. This video garnered over 15,000 views and some of our favourite comments were:
• So much information. Loving all of it right now.
• Wow I'm glad I watched this. So much good info ??
• yay for farmers! #don'tfearyourfood! #farmersrock!
• Wow was I ever misinformed
• Who knew so many products made out of wheat, soy, corn etc. Great job! Thank a farmer!!
Another Facebook Live segment was held from the Growing Connections trailer at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair with Sandi Brock, a grain farmer from Staffa, talking about farm life, being a mom, and agricultural competitions and traditions like the Royal. This video garnered over 30,000 views and Sandi really connected with the audience receiving comments such as:
• Farms and farmers are the heart and soul, honourable and hardworking.
• A farmers day is never done, just like a mom
• I have learned so much!!
• Farmers rule
• I think it's great growing up on a farm teaches hard work
The most recent activity with Cat & Nat is an idea presented by them to help bridge the gap between urban and rural through the voices of kids. Watch for this video, and much more, over the next six months on the social media platforms of Cat & Nat and Good in Every Grain. •
New alternative?


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10,000 messages and 480 Hours
That is how long it would have taken our client to manually test new communication hardware for accuracy. Personnel had to create the original message, transmit it through the new equipment and compare the original with what was received. Inconsistencies were recorded by hand. This had to be repeated with 10,000 messages to ensure efficacy, a process that would require about 480 personnel hours.
SynaptaCode wrote software to test the accuracy of the equipment, provide comparative logs noted with exceptions or failures. The solution replaced tedious manual processes and reduced regression testing time from 12 weeks to two weeks, saving more than 400 personnel hours.
The SynaptaCode Stimulator System (SSS) is a PC-based system that supports multiple clients and is a cost-effective method of interfacing existing input communications data into a network environment to illicit the correct outputs. The SSS can interface with 16 discrete inputs to facilitate the recreation of an actual operations environment within a virtual setting.
The SSS server/client architecture can provide several options for connecting multiple client inputs to a single messaging server, single client workstation to multiple messaging servers, or multiple client workstations to multiple messaging servers. This flexibility allows your systems to expand or contract without the need for costly software or hardware modifications.
SSS is also useful in operational training lab applications as an economic stimulation device for multiple data circuits using an embedded scripting capability. The embedded scripting capability allows for the playback of specific content at specific times or a specific volume of traffic over a period of time. The user can pause, stop, rewind, or skip using the simple scripting tools to assist in training or testing needs.
The SSS is accredited for Top Secret and was granted an Authority to Operate (ATO) and Type Accreditation in April of 2013. T-RECS is registered in both the DoD IT Portfolio Repository DON (DITPR-DON ID 22929) and the Department of the Navy Application and Database Management Systems (DADMS ID 85390). The Navy issued Full Readiness Certified Board (FRCB) approval for T-RECS installation at three communications centers in May of 2013.
SSS also supports High Level Architecture IAW IEEE1516-2010 and can be installed on any Windows-based platform.
SSS messaging server comes in 2 different models; Standard and Mobile.
READ NEXT CASE STUDY
1111 N Lee Ave, Ste 334, Oklahoma City, OK 73103
© 2018 SynaptaCode


text:
Q: Como criar um buffer para manipular imagens em Pillow? Estou desenvolvendo uma aplicação onde eu preciso criar imagens muitos grandes (100MB de imagem por exemplo), desenhando pixel por pixel nela, utilizando a biblioteca Pillow.
O problema é que utilizando o método tradicional, o Pillow armazena a imagem por completo na memória, o que acaba consumindo bastante recurso.
"""
Método tradicional para criar imagens em Pillow.
"""
image = Image.new("RGB", (5000, 5000)) # Isso consome muita RAM!!

for y in range(5000):
    for x in range(5000):
        image.putpixel((x, y), get_custom_pixel())

image.save(filename)

Então eu estava pensando em uma solução de buffering, para desenhar a imagem aos poucos, sem consumir tanta memória. O problema é que eu não achei isso em nenhum lugar da internet, apenas algumas menções. Eu gostaria de saber se é possível fazê-lo e, se sim, como.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Luxury Home Buyers Believe Home Ownership Is A Wise Investment Over Stocks!
As a private fund manager this is an interesting topic and I tend to agree that real estate investments are a very savvy strategy!
Better Homes and Gardens commissioned a recent study among luxury home buyers on their views of homes as an investment and their needs in considering a new luxury home.
The study reveals the needs of the savvy luxury home buyer, many of which are international buyers, are increasing and as a result the Agent role needs to match their needs.
At RE/MAX Evolution we have designed our service, support and marketing to hit each of the points referenced in this info-graphic from the survey and more.
Technology is a big part of the new home experience and a big part of the marketing experience we provide. Our team is tech savvy, our marketing is technology-driven and we are positioned to support the international customer.
Contact us and we will be proud to earn your business!
This entry was posted in Real Estate, Real Estate Industry News. Bookmark the permalink.


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Independent candidate Kerryn Phelps has cemented her lead in the Wentworth byelection after a day of astonishing shifts in the provisional tally, with the final outcome to be decided by thousands of postal votes that are yet to be counted.
Liberal Party observers believe the government only has a remote chance of a shock comeback over the coming days, with Liberal candidate Dave Sharma falling further behind in the latest count on Sunday night.
Dr Phelps has secured 51.1 per cent of the vote in two-party terms, a lead that is substantial enough to withstand the gains Mr Sharma is expected to make when more postal votes are received by the time the deadline passes on November 2.
Dr Phelps had a lead of 1626 votes in the update posted by the Australian Electoral Commission at 6.45pm on Sunday, securing 37,719 votes in two-party terms compared to 36,093 for Mr Sharma.
In a trend that threw the outcome into doubt early on Sunday, Mr Sharma secured about 64 per cent of the postal votes being counted and appeared on track to close the gap and possibly win the byelection.
This trend was suddenly reversed when the AEC checked the count at polling booths in suburbs including Bellevue Hill, Bondi and Bronte, adding more than 700 votes to the Phelps camp and giving her a significant lead.
Fairfax Media was told the Liberals believe there is only a "very, very slim chance" the postal votes yet to arrive will change the outcome.
"I'm a pretty fatalistic sort of person. This is something I can't control, it's in the hands of the voters, still," Mr Sharma told Sky News on Sunday night.
The AEC issued 12,788 postal vote envelopes and has only received about 80 per cent of them in recent byelections. It has already received 6890, leading to estimates there are another 3300 yet to come.
If Mr Sharma gained 64 per cent of another 3300 postal votes he would still fall about 700 votes short of Dr Phelps.
He would also fall short if he gained 64 per cent of all the 5602 postal votes that were issued but not yet received back by the AEC. In this scenario, he would gain 3585 votes while Dr Phelps would gain 2017 votes.
This represents a generous forecast of the outcome for Mr Sharma but it would leave him with 39,678 votes, behind Dr Phelps with 39,736 votes. He would lose by 58 votes.
Other uncertainties hang over the count, however, given the scope for changes to the tally from further checks on the results at various polling booths beyond those checked on Sunday. A recount will be triggered if the outcome is decided by fewer than 100 votes or if the result is challenged.
The result has provoked Liberal anger at former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull for not doing more to convince voters to back Mr Sharma and instead remaining silent as polling day neared.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged the anger from voters over the removal of Mr Turnbull on August 24 while others said the debate over the leadership spill meant the Liberal Party should apply new rules to prevent it being repeated.
Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman, who supported Mr Turnbull during the spill, is calling for new party rules to make sure there is a "cooling off period" between a spill motion and the ballot on the leadership.
Writing in Fairfax Media on Monday, Mr Zimmerman also calls for the adoption of UK Conservative Party rules that prevent a new challenge within a certain period, such as 12 months, as well as a shift to four-year terms for Parliament.
"If the Liberal Party is to restore faith in its ability to provide the stability that, for most of our history, has been our strength, then change must happen," he writes.
Mr Morrison acknowledged the damage to the Liberal campaign from the lingering anger over the toppling of Mr Turnbull.
"The events of two months ago angered and outraged many Liberals, and particularly those in the seat of Wentworth," Mr Morrison said.
"That's on us, the parliamentary Liberal Party, those who serve in the parliamentary ranks.
Mr Turnbull held the seat with 67.75 per cent of the vote in two-party terms but the latest count showed the Liberal Party getting only 48.72 per cent in the byelection, a setback of 19 per cent and one of the biggest swings on record.
The Keating government suffered a swing of 23.6 per cent in the Wills byelection in 1992 but the result was invalidated on constitutional grounds. Setting this aside, the biggest swing against a Labor government was 16.1 per cent in the Canberra byelection in 1995 and the biggest swing against a Coalition government was 12.4 per cent in Werriwa in 1952.
Several Liberals who campaigned in the byelection told Fairfax Media they could have won with stronger support from Mr Turnbull, although federal Liberal president Nick Greiner said he doubted this would have saved the seat.
"I think [Mr Turnbull] should have endorsed Sharma in the last day or two," Mr Greiner told the ABC's National Wrap program on Sunday night.
Mr Morrison declined to blame his predecessor but confirmed he had approached Mr Turnbull for help with a letter or other support.
"I'll be honest about it, those approaches were made, they were even made by Dave himself. But what impact they would have had ultimately is for others to judge," Mr Morrison said.
"I've always tried to be understanding of the tremendous personal impact that the events of two months ago would have had, not just on Malcolm but on his family.