Our Team
Norm Flynn, Founder and Executive Director
Norm Flynn is the executive director and founder of the Hockey Education Reaching Out Society (H.E.R.O.S.). This non-profit organization, founded in 2000, empowers at-risk youth through the game of ice hockey in several major cities across Canada.
Norm was born and raised in the north end of Winnipeg – a tough, working-class neighborhood. As a boy, like many kids in his crowd, Norm started getting into frequent fights and trouble.
Fortunately, Norm discovered hockey. The game gave him a healthy outlet to channel his energy and vent his frustrations.
With hockey, Norm found himself surrounded by positive role models and peers. It also gave him the chance to work with coaches and mentors who taught him to manage his anger and steered him back onto a productive path.
With new-found self-confidence, Norm left home at age 17 to play in the Western Hockey League (WHL). His goal was to become a professional hockey player. He achieved this goal by playing for three years with the Lethbridge Broncos and Portland Winterhawks.
In 1984, Norm was awarded a full academic/hockey scholarship from the University of Winnipeg. This allowed him to play varsity hockey while completing a degree in Business Administration. At this point, he began to envision a hockey program for disadvantaged and at-risk youth to transform his passion for the sport into something far greater.
Upon graduation in 1988, Norm moved to Vancouver to work for Colgate as a sales manager. Over the next decade, he became involved in a variety of environmental and philanthropic projects, earning his stripes in both fundraising and promotional activities.
In 2000, with a handful of volunteers, Norm launched H.E.R.O.S. in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The program was an immediate success and attracted significant corporate sponsorship. This sponsorship has allowed the rapid expansion of the program to other major cities across Canada.
Among the numerous awards Norm has garnered since the establishment of H.E.R.O.S. are:
- The BC School Superintendents' Association Award of Recognition in 2007 for programs that enhance public education.
- The prestigious CIBC Miracle Maker Award in 2003 in honour of outstanding contribution to his city. This award is given to only four recipients throughout Canada.
