Businessman makes big play for Venezuela
Country’s women’s softball team coming to Surrey thanks to donation
When Addison Hubert talks about the political and economic situation in Venezuela and how it’s hurting the people who live there, he tears up.
“It’s such a different world down there,” he said. “We should be so grateful for what we have here in Canada. We should get up every morning and count our blessings.”
That’s why Hubert, a longtime White Rock resident and businessman, does everything he can to help. He’s made 28 trips to Venezuela in the past six years to volunteer his time and donate money, and he supports a church just outside the capital city of Caracas.
When he heard that Venezuela’s highly ranked women’s softball team wasn’t going to participate in the 2016 WBSC XV Women’s World Softball Championship in Surrey because it hadn’t been able to raise enough money to make the trip, he wanted to help.
“It’s so dire down there,” he said. “They’re just barely feeding their families and they don’t have any money for any more expenses.”
Hubert has donated between $25,000 and $30,000 to help pay for flights, accommodation and meals for the team during the 10day tournament, which begins July 15. It was about half of what the team needed to make the trip — the rest came from the Venezuelan government and fundraising.
Event chairman Greg Timm called Hubert’s donation an “incredibly generous and far-reaching gesture” that will allow the team to inspire a generation of young girls in Venezuela.
“I’m not a rich person; I’ve been
very fortunate,” said Hubert, who is partner at development consulting firm Preferred Dynacan. “I rent my home, I drive a nine-year-old car, but I have the greatest life in the world. It’s just a stark contrast to what is going on in Venezuela.”
The country is in turmoil due to an economic crisis that’s the result of years of mismanagement and low oil prices. Electricity and water are being rationed, people have to line up to get food, the health care system is in crisis, inflation is out of control, protests are a regular occurrence and the homicide rate is climbing.
“They don’t have much hope for the future with this government they have,” Hubert said. “But when it comes to sports, they’re like a nation anywhere in the world — they’re passionate about their sports. It gives them some hope, it gives them some joy.”
Andrea Sanchez, a founding member of the Venezuelan Canadi- an Society of B.C., said baseball and softball are “part of the culture” in Venezuela, like hockey and curling are in Canada.
Venezuelans are positive, friendly, community-oriented people who have a lot of national pride, Sanchez said. The fact that Team Venezuela will be participating in the international tournament this month is a chance to bring the community together — both in B.C. and in Venezuela — and show people what Venezuelans are made of.
“It’s of great importance that an individual is willing to make such a generous donation to support a whole country’s desire to participate in an event,” she said.
When it comes to sports, they’re like a nation anywhere in the world — they’re passionate about their sports.