Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

Former Minnesota North Star and Chicago Blackhawk Tom Reid was one of the founding members of the Make a Wish Foundation, but now he and several other founding members are breaking away from the Make a Wish Foundation and are forming a new organization with similar goals.

Reid and his fellow Make a Wish Foundation founding members decided to move away from the foundation because they disagree with some of the policies different chapters had put in place. Reid said they ìhandcuffedî the foundation from granting wishes in some areas.

Wishes involving hunting were becoming more problematic in that many chapters would not allow the wishes to be granted. Another issue that bothered Reid and other founders was the fact that the foundation decided to no longer give families a small amount of money if a child died before their wish was granted.

ìAll we wanted to do was give the family a small amount of money so they could plant a tree in memory of their child or take their other kids on a small weekend getaway,î Reid said.

Unhappy with the Make a Wish Foundation, Reid and several others decided to start Wishes and More. Wishes and More will be very similar to the Make a Wish Foundation, but put the focus back on the kidís wishes. Wishes and More is what brought Reid to Forest Lake Dec. 22 to talk to the Forest Lake Rotary.

Reid told the Rotary, ìWe elected to step away and start an organization that does basically the same thing. We wanted to expand our base from 21?2 to 18 years old to 21?2 to 19 and we will grant hunting wishes. This is something we think will come together.î

Wishes and More is still in the organizing stages. For more information about Wishes and More visit www.wishesnmore.org.

Hockey

While Reid is passionate about Wishes and More, he is also a radio analyst for the Minnesota Wild and one of the many people affected by the NHL lockout.

Reid is affected in different ways than the average fan. The obvious way he is affected is the fact that he isnít working as the Wildís radio analyst. The other way heís affected is as a bar owner. Tom Reid's Pub in St. Paul is located near the Xcel Center, but without the hockey crowds filing through the doors before and after games, heís feeling the strain.

ìWeíre all losers,î Reid said. ìNobody is going to win.î

Reid said that for every one NHL player that is out of work right now there are anywhere from 700 to 1000 other people being affected. Reid said those affected can be fans, arena personnel, waiters and bar tenders at establishments near arena and even the youth groups who work the concession stands during the games.

With the lockout now over 110 days old, everyone just wants the game back on the ice.

ìWhen you talk to people they want the NHL back. They donít care how it happens, they just want it back,î Reid said.

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