18-member Trenton Military Wives Choir. Photo taken by Gisele Turner-LeBlanc Photography.
By Julia Lennips [1]
TRENTON – This year the Invictus Games [2] opening ceremonies featured the talents of the Trenton Military Wives Choir.
The 18-member local choir sang alongside a number of other military choirs [3] and performed “Invincible” written by Laura Wright.
Melanie Zukowski is the founder of the Trenton Military Wives Choir. She said it was great to get all the choirs together for the first time and sing and that a lot of tears were shed over the weekend.
“It was overwhelming and just so rewarding to be there to be a part of giving back to our veterans and making a contribution towards these games,” said Zukowski.
This year’s games held in Toronto showcased veteran athletes who were injured in service. The games were created to spread a wider understanding and respect towards wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
As a former medic herself, Zukowski says she is aware of the importance of the games.
“For me the Invictus Games represent a big part of the recognition of being a veteran and of the sacrifice that we have made for our jobs.”
A couple of her friends also attended the Invictus Games. Stephane Roy competed in wheelchair basketball and Paul Franklin provided analysis for CTV’s opening and closing ceremonies coverage.
“I was not able to stay for any of the games, which is unfortunate because wheelchair rugby sounds fantastic, but I wanted to go and show my support,” said Zukowski.
Zukowski along with 30 women from different choirs including North Bay, Petawawa and Trenton stayed for an extra day to sing at a military band spectacular. The spectacular was held at Roy Thomson Hall [4].
She said being on stage with fantastic talents was one of the most memorable moments, but she also enjoyed seeing what the games meant to others.
“It was good to know we were making a positive contribution.”