When a celebrity comes to the southeast, people tend to want to go, and that's what happened this past weekend.

The Long Creek Agricultural Environmental Group welcomed hockey legend Theoren Fleury to the Oungre Regional Memorial Park Hall on Saturday night.

Weyburn's Tessa Dupuis was invited by a friend, and she says she was so glad she went, as she needed to hear his message. Not only is Fleury her all-time favourite hockey player, but she also called him an incredible speaker and a courageous human healing his own mental health and helping so many along his journey, including herself.

"Everyone was very excited to meet him. It was quite a long lineup for the meet and greet," she shared. 

In addition to a lady sharing her 'heart-wrenching' story about losing her husband to mental illness, Depuis said Fleury shared on his own personal journey of his own struggles and how he now helps others.

"One of the phrases he usually says is, 'me too'," she noted. "He says a lot of people now will come up to him and say 'me too', as in 'yes, them too', that they have suffered from mental illness, or addictions, or anything, the loss of somebody. It affects everybody. And it was great to be able to to tell him that 'me too' and just have that hug, and know that he got it."

She said, "it was a great evening outlining that we're not alone. We all have support, and there are avenues out there that they can help us."

Dupuis said Fleury was personable, and he mingled and connected with people throughout the event, and, you could hear a pin drop when he was giving his talk.

It was the second time Dupuis was able to meet Theoren Fleury. She met him in 2019 when he was in Weyburn for the Envision Counselling and Support Centre's 25th-anniversary celebration.