It was the summer I turned 10 years old. I was visiting my older cousin who lived on 149th Street on the west end. The land across the street had been the town of Jasper Place but on this day in August it was being annexed by the city of Edmonton.
     Across the street from my cousin's house, a strip mall was hosting an event to commemorate the occasion and we wandered over to check it out. One of the first booths we came upon belonged to 630 CHED. They were hosting a remote broadcast and passing out souvenir key chains. We eagerly got in line behind the other fans and eventually worked our way to the front. My older cousin was in front of me and was handed a key chain when he got to the booth. I moved up as he stepped aside and held out my hand for the coveted treasure.
     I still remember what happened next as if it happened last week.
     "Sorry kid," the disc jockey said. "That was the last one."
     I stared at him in disbelief but he had already turned away.
     There is a particularly bitter sting to disappointment when it follows the absolute belief you are going to succeed.

Flash forward fifteen years.
     Twenty five years old and I'd already been working at CHED full time for six years. My 8 week practicum with the Advertising and Public Relations had turned into a full time job and the old building downtown felt like my second home. On this particular day I was in a storeroom on the rarely-visited third floor looking for an envelope. I reached to the top of a shelf and accidentally knocked over a small box. When it hit the floor, a familiar looking key chain rolled out.
     I stood there looking at it as the memories raced back. The logo was now out of date and the original key-chain promotion was long forgotten, but to me it was the most beautiful thing in the world.
     Over the years, I've lost and re-found that keychain a hundred times. And it always seems to show up at some significant time when I need a reminder such as; never give up on your dreams, or some things are just destined to happen. So many years have passed and CHED is still a huge part of my life.
     On Friday morning I wrote a heart felt tribute to people I met through CHED. On Saturday I found the keychain in some obscure bowl tucked away in a cupboard. Perfect timing and perhaps a reminder to always keep your eyes open for the next keychain and the next opportunity.
     Like happiness and love, sometimes opportunity is not where it' looked for but where it's found.