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FROM
THE WORLD OF HOCKEY
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If there is one sport in particular that defines the
community of Valley East, it is likely that hockey would stand out at the
top. Whether you want to debate the future of NHL teams such as the
Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadians, you can always count on
striking up a conversation of one sort or the other if you bring up
hockey.
Valley East Today invites all of our readers to take time to visit
another one of the web sites that we have created, www.afterthewhistle.com.
It will provide you with insight into the game of hockey that will surely
get your thoughts stimulated. Some of the most popular features are listed
below. Once on the article you can visit the entire web site. We felt it
was appropriate to lead off our special features section with After The
Whistle.
Robert Kirwan, Publisher Valley East Today and After The Whistle |
After
The Whistle Web Site Offers Plenty of Food For Thought |
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Minor Hockey Teams Enjoy
Fund-Raising Projects At The Mall |
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The Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre is always a popular place
for local minor sports teams in need of fund-raising for various
tournaments and activities. Just prior to Christmas, the Property Stewards
Novice Club was in the mall selling tickets on a beautiful Christmas gift
basket. |
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Ted
Dore Memorial Fund and NHLPA Teams Up To Create V.E. Hockey
Equipment Bank |
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announced
the donation of 50 brand new sets of hockey equipment, courtesy of
the NHLPA’s
Goals & Dreams fund. This donation is geared towards helping
supplement the rising costs of hockey equipment for today’s minor hockey
player. Andrew Brunette, a
star player with the Minnesota Wild who grew up and still lives in the
community during the off-season, is thrilled about this opportunity to
give back to the game he loved, “Over the last few years we toiled with
the idea of opening a hockey equipment bank for the Valley East Community.
The NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams Fund has allowed us to jumpstart this
program with their generous donation.”
Andrew goes on to say, “With the downturn in the economy, this is
the ideal time to establish a program of this nature.
The last thing a child should have to worry about is playing with
proper equipment.”
The Hockey Equipment
Bank will loan out items of equipment to children in the Valley East Minor
Hockey system, from ages 4 – 14, for the duration of the hockey season.
At the end of the season, the equipment will be returned to the Bank for
use the following year. This
program is designed for families that need assistance. For those families
that wish to donate equipment, the Equipment Bank will gladly accept these
“deposits”. A special hockey equipment donation drive will be
organized in August and September to help increase the amount of equipment
that is available through the bank.
In 1999, the National
Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) launched the Goals
& Dreams fund as a way for the players to give something back
to the game they love. The players’ program has donated full sets of
hockey equipment to more than 9,000 economically challenged children in 17
countries and assisted with upgrades and the building of hundreds of
arenas world-wide. To date, Goals
& Dreams has donated more than $17-million to grassroots
hockey programs around the world making it the largest program of its
kind.
As for the golf tournament, Team Hurley Mining finished the day
with the lowest score at 16 under par. The team consisted of Bart Hurley,
Bob Simoneau, Jeff Tyers, and Greg Husk. The top prize of the day went to
Team King Sportswear who finished in 14th place, symbolic of
the number that Ted Dore wore while playing hockey in the Valley East
Minor Hockey system. Dore’s number 14 has been officially retired by the
Valley East Progressive Hockey Association in his memory. Most will agree
that there will never be another person quite like Ted Dore.
If
anyone is interested in donating hockey equipment or money to the Ted Dore
Memorial Fund, you can contact Ryan Kirwan at 897-1110 or by email at ryankirwan@rmabroker.ca
Ryan wishes to thank all of the participants and supporters who helped in
any way to make this inaugural event such a huge success. |
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Confederation
Secondary School Hosts Track & Field Meets For Rainbow DSB This
Spring |
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Valley East is once again proving that
this is one of the most exciting communities in the City of Greater
Sudbury as a result of the selection of Confederation Secondary School and
the Raymond Plourde Arena as the host site of the Rainbow District School
Board’s track and field meets for its elementary and secondary schools.
On May 12,
Alexander
Public School
took to the track for their annual meet. In
the photo we see one of the heats for the Junior Boys 200 metre race.
The Laurentian Community Track, where annual meets are usually
held, is currently being rebuilt to accommodate local track meets in the
future, encourage community participation and enable the City to host
events such as the 2010 Summer Games. When all other sites were
considered, it was determined that the Confederation site was the best one
for accommodating the needs of the Board at this time.
The Rainbow
District School Board and the City of
Greater Sudbury
have been working together to prepare the Val
Caron location to welcome thousands of students in May and June.
The Raymond Plourde
Arena in Val Caron will serve as a gathering place for participants,
officials and spectators. All parking will be at the Raymond Plourde Arena
where participants will have access to concessions and washrooms. There
will be no parking at
Confederation
Secondary School
for track and field events.
Equipment
has been moved from the Laurentian Community Track to its temporary home
in Val Caron. The field that runs between the Raymond Plourde Arena and
Confederation
Secondary School
was upgraded to accommodate shot put, javelin,
long jump, triple jump, pole vaulting and discus. The six-lane track was
resurfaced in preparation for the many races that will take place between
now and the end of the school year.
“The
work being completed to accommodate this year’s track and field events
is certainly enhancing our community,” stated Ward 5 Councillor Ron
Dupuis. “We look forward to welcoming track and field participants and
spectators to
Valley East
.”
Director
Jean Hanson commended Confederation Secondary School Principal, Mike Mirka,
and Program Leader of Athletics, Gilbert Briscoe, for their leadership on
this important project along with Chris Gore, the City of
Greater Sudbury
’s Manager of Volunteerism and Community
Development. She also thanked staff, students and parents for their
support.
“We
are delighted that
Confederation
Secondary School
offered to host this year’s track and field
for the entire city,” says Director Hanson. “Staff and students at the
school have certainly been working diligently to ensure the site is
ready”
On May 20 and 21,
spectators are encouraged to visit the site to watch the SDSSAA City
Finals, featuring some of the finest athletes in the city going
head-to-head for glory.
Other significant dates
to remember are May 28 and June 2 when the Board Senior meets will take
place. The Junior meets will be held on June 4 and 9.
The Relay/Pentathlon
Meet will be held on June 11; the Legion Meet on June 13; the Rainbow DSB
Champions Meet on June 15 and finally the Board’s Challenge meet will be
held on June 17.
We welcome all
participants to
Valley East
and can promise them an experience they will
never forget. |
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Sportsman
Hockey League Gives Back To The Community |
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The 2nd
Annual Sportsman League All Star game will go
down in the books as a 10 to 4 win for Team King Sportswear over Team
Cranky Joe’s, but the big winners had nothing to do with putting pucks
in the net.
Over 200 fans witnessed the game helping to raise over $500 for
Valley East Minor Hockey and ten boxes of food for the Good Neighbours
Food Bank.
The event is sponsored by Cranky Joe's,
Molson's, Food Basics, Skater's Edge and Tim Horton's.
The
Valley East Sportsman League provides a place to play for men ranging in
age from 19 to 35, many of whom with OHL, NOJA Junior A and ‘AAA’
Midget experience. The action is always fast and entertaining, but the all
star game provided the opportunity for participants to perform at a higher
level than they have enjoyed in a long time.
The
final score in the game last year was Team Cranky Joe’s All Stars 2 and
Team Desjardins’ Food Basics All Stars 1, so this year’s offensive
power definitely provided a lot of excitement for the fans.
There
are ten teams with over 150 players in the league. If you want to catch
any of the action you can drop in during any of the following game times:
At the Ray Plourde Arena in Val Caron on Wednesdays at 10 pm and Sundays
at 10 pm; At the Centennial Arena on Fridays at 10 and 11:30 pm and
Saturdays at 10 pm.; and at Capreol on Fridays at 9:30 pm, Saturdays at 7
& 8:30 on Ice #1 and 9:30 on Ice #2; and Sundays at 6 pm.
This year the teams are
very evenly matched. Carpetland and Cranky Joe’s are battling it out for
top spot, but the next five teams are usually separated by no more than 4
points.
If you have any
questions about the league or if you are interested in playing for one of
the teams, call the League President, Paul Walker at 969-3658. Moe Martel,
one of the organizers of the event, can be contacted at 969-3728. |
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Youth
Basketball Growing In Leaps & Bounds In
Valley
East
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Kim Carbone, on the left, a member of the Board of Directors with
the Valley East Minor Basketball League, is extremely pleased with the
interest that is being shown by young boys and girls in this popular
sport. In the photo we see Maxine Blais and her twin brother, Alexandre,
signing up for the Bantam Division during registrations which were held in
September at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre.
Maxine
and Alexandre are both 13 years of age and attend Grade 8 at Ecole
Catholique Jean Paul II in Val Caron. They both stated that they like the
recreational nature of the league and are looking forward to playing
basketball when they get into high school next year. They also play at
their school and have an outdoor net at home.
The league runs from
mid-October to mid-April, with one practice and one game per week. The
cost of registration ranges from $75 for Tykes to $100 for Midgets.
Players are as young as five years of age to sixteen years at the Midget
level. All games are played in local school gymnasiums.
This is one sport which
sits well with parents who want their children to enjoy a healthy sport
without “breaking the bank”. All you need to play is a good pair of
running shoes and a pair of shorts.
Jerseys
are supplied with your registration. Teams are chosen after a mandatory
“try-out” which allows coaches to rate the players and create teams
that are equal in skills to promote competition during the season.
If
you would like more information about the league, contact Mike Bertrand at
897-0031 or Kim Carbone at 969-3469.
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Geocaching
Is One Of The Fastest Growing Recreational Sports In The World |
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Line and Steve Price
are what many would call
Sudbury
’s most “avid geocachers”.
They were the special guests recently on Robert Kirwan’s radio show, The
Learning Clinic and they spent a full day at the Hanmer Valley Shopping
Centre providing people with information about this increasingly popular
sport.
Geocaching is a
worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a
cache anywhere in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology
and then share the geocache’s existence and location online. Anyone with
a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.
Steve indicated that
there are more than 200 geocache locations in the
Sudbury
area. In fact, if you walk
among the nature trails and parks in the area, you may have gone right by
one without even knowing it. Many of the caches are hidden in hard to find
places in order to make it more challenging for geocachers. “Sometimes
you get to the location using your GPS and you know that the geocache box
is within ten or twenty feet of where you are, but it may still take you
another twenty or thirty minutes to find it.
When you do find a
geocache, it will contain a logbook with information from the owner of the
cache, notes from visitors and it can also contain valuable, rewarding and
entertaining information and objects. You never know what the owners or
visitors of the cache may have left there for you to enjoy. That is what
makes this sport so great!
Steve and Line indicate
that there are geocachers all over the world. Whenever they go away on a
holiday, they check beforehand to see where the caches are hidden around
the city to which they are heading. Then they try to set aside at least a
couple of days to go “geocaching” to see if they can hunt down the
treasure.
If you are interested
in finding out more about this new form of recreation go to the web site
at www.geocaching.com.
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Ken Kauffeldt
& Paulette Carierre Capture 2008 Club Championships |
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Thirty-six (36) holes were not enough for Ken Kauffeldt, on
the left, and Gates Piquette to decide the 2008 Men's Club Championship.
Ken entered the final day of the two-day event a full five strokes behind
Gates, having fired an 80 to Piquette's 75 during the Saturday round.
Kauffeldt didn't quit and played steady golf on Sunday, picking away at
Gates' lead, until the 17 hole which Kauffeldt parred and Piquette bogied.
The two men tied the final hole, forcing a sudden death playoff on the
10th hole.
On
the ladies' side, it was perennial winner Paulette Carrier dominating the
field right from the start. Paulette finished up with 87 on Saturday and
79 on Sunday for a two day total of 166.
Karen Croteau came in runner-up position with a two day total of 189.
The photo below shows Ken Kauffeldt putting in the winning stroke, a
bogie 5 on the 10th hole after Gates Piquette holed out with a
double-bogie six. The victory was Kauffeldt's second Club Championship. He
also won the title in 2005. His son, Jason, won the championship in 2006
before Peter Woitowich wrestled it from the Kauffeldt family in 2007.
Ken's win in 2008 brought the title home once again.
Both golfers finished up the two-day event with 30-hole scores of 154. |
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2008 CLUB CHAMPIONS |
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Ken
Kauffeldt |
Paulette
Carierre |
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Mike
Lemieux Wins First Annual Valley East Men’s Open
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The First Annual Valley East Men's Open Golf Tournament, sponsored
by Grill Marks Bistro and Nature's Haven Developments, was held at Grill
Marks Clearview Golf Club on September 6 & 7.
A total of 106 golfers
took part in the two day event with
Sudbury
's Mike Lemieux edging out Mike Doniec by a single stroke to take the
title. Lemieux shot a three over par 75 on a very tough course layout to
Doniec's 76. Third place went to local favourites from Hanmer, Rich
Larochelle and Tim Phillips who came in with a 77. Roddy McLeod, formerly
of Hanmer, now living in the
Toronto
area was next with a 78, just one shot ahead of
Sudbury
's Tim Gordon.
Lemieux is shown
accepting his trophy from the owners of Grill Marks Clearview, from the
left: Tyler Merrin, Christine Allsop, Lemieux, Lynda Allsop, and Jim
Allsop. Tournament Director, Robert Kirwan, was very pleased with the
entire weekend and is planning on speaking to the other golf course owners
over the winter to see if there is interest in developing a Sudbury Tour
during 2009.
The
event featured one of the richest prize packages ever offered in the
Sudbury Area. Lemieux won the first place prize of $1000 plus a membership
to the club for 2009 in addition to another $205 participation prize that
was handed out to all players who took part in the tournament.
Other
flight winners who also won a membership to the golf club for 2009
included: Rob Henri and Joshua Mayne tied in the First Flight with a score
of 80; Tim Phillips won the Second Flight with a round of 77; Rich
Larochelle won the Third Flight with a 77; Brian Fox won the fourth flight
with a round of 87.
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Mixed
Slo-Pitch League Having Another Excellent Summer! |
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League Treasurer, Jeanine Bolger reported that The
Valley East Mixed Slo-pitch Association is going stronger than
ever this summer. They held their 24th annual soft
ball tournament in July and 20 teams entered the competition.
The Division A Champions, the Damn Ducks, are shown in the
accompanying photo.
The winners of the weekend tournament
were as follows;
Division A Champs – Damn Ducks,
runner’s up Ball Busters.
Division B Champs – Broch-a-foins,
runner’s up Star Mart
Division C Champs – Paralyzed Turtles,
runner’s up Talbot Automotive
Division D Champs – JAFT, runner’s up
Mobile Parts
Division E Champs – Cranky Joe’s, and
runner’s up FunKINutz
Bolger stated, “Next year will be the
Leagues 25th anniversary and it promises to be
something special. 25
years of softball in the Valley and although times are
changing and people are getting busier the urge to play ball
is growing strong. This
year the Valley East Mixed Slo-pitch Association has 29 teams
on their roster...this has been a banner year!”
Local residents are reminded that you can contact the league
by email at v.e.m.s.p.a@hotmail.com.
You can also watch the teams in action every Sunday except for
long weekends at Centennial Arena and the Hanmer field just
off 69N at the top of the hill. The year-end playoff
tournament will be held the weekend of September 6 & 7.
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The
Future of Golf Display Their Talents At Annual Mini
Masters Tournament |
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The 16th Annual Valley Family Golf Centre
Mini Masters Golf Tournament was held on August 16 at the
region’s most popular driving range complex in
Blezard
Valley
. Forty-nine boys and girls ranging from as young as four
years old to fourteen years of age took part in the nine-hole
tournament which was played on the par 30 Whistling Winds Golf
Course which is part of the complex.
Vic
Whissell, owner of the Valley Family Golf Centre, first
started the event to give young children a taste of what is
like to play in a real golf tournament. They play by the rules
( for the most part ) and have their scores recorded, earning
prizes for their efforts. He added a long drive, putting, and
closest to the pin contests to add variety and excitement to
the day. Ryan Abresch, the winner of the boy’s category in
1992, the very first year the event was played, has gone on to
become one of the top young golfers in the area. The first
girl’s winner was Meghan Pitura.
The
accompanying photo shows the group of the youngest golfers in
the tournament as they finished the ninth hole and were about
to make their way to the BBQ for a well deserved hot dog and
refreshments.
At the end
of the day, the boy’s champion was Jordan Piette who shot a
three over par, 33. Sarefina Giommi was the winner of the
girl’s division with a 61.
Winners of the different age categories were:
Ages
4/5/6
: Alexander Fawke with a round of 48;
Ages 7 & 8: Jordan Ferron with a
round of 64;
Ages 9 & 10: Jodi Walker with a round
of 39;
Ages 11 & 12: Trevor Labonte with a
round of 49;
Ages 13 & 14: Jacob Smith with a
round of 40.
The long drive winner for the boys was Jodi Walker and
for the girls it was Marzia Giommi.
The putting
contest was won by Austin Pawlik.
The winner of the closest to the hole contest was
Mathew Perry.
Special thanks are extended to Nicole Stone and Vic
Whissell, the two main organizers of the tournament. Others
who were instrumental in helping make the event such a huge
success included Myrna Young, Sam Stone, Diane Houle and Ed
Lemieux. Of course, a special thank you was extended to all of
the area merchants who donated prizes in support of the event. |
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The
“Boys” Continue The Tradition During Annual Slo Pitch Tournament |
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For
as long as they can remember, the “boys” in the photo have gathered to
take part in the Annual Valley East Men’s League Slo Pitch Tournament
(known to many as the Barn Dance Tournament), taking time to enjoy a few
holes of golf the day before the competition begins. This is something
that they look forward to all year long and they have no plans on breaking
the tradition any time soon.
From the left we have, Andrew Brunette, Al Chenier, Bob Simoneau, Brian
Savard, Steve Fournier, Scott Jeanveau, Rob Fournier, and Dave Ballantyne.
All of the guys grew up in
Valley East
, playing all sorts of
minor sports and are following their own paths through life as adults.
Just a few days before this photo was taken, Andrew Brunette, shown
on the right lining up a chip off the first green, signed a new three-year
$7 million contract with the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League.
The 35-year old
Valley East
native will be
returning to the club where he played three seasons from 2001 to 2004 and
ranks third on the franchise career list in assists, fifth in points and
seventh in goals.
He
spent the past three seasons in
Colorado
where he scored 70
goals and 135 assists for 205 points. He now has career totals of 191
goals and 358 assists for 549 points in 788 NHL games.
After signing Brunette, Minnesota Wild general manager, Doug Risebrough,
who stated that he never should have let Andrew go in 2004, commented, "Andrew
is a consistent offensive performer and an excellent teammate who helped
create the culture of our team. We are better, on the ice and in the
dressing room, with him back. Not often do you get the chance to correct a
mistake."
Andrew Brunette is the current leader in the NHL Ironman competition,
having played close to 600 consecutive games without an injury. No other
current player has played as many games in a row, a true testament to his
durability.
Andrew Brunette is already a member of the Valley East Sports Hall of
Fame, having been one of the first inductees in the Professional Category
in 1998.
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APPROACHING THE BALL |
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CAREFULLY LINING UP THE SHOT |
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IN THE HOLE!!!! |
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FORM ON THE TEE |
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In the photo
above, Andrew displays the form that demonstrates why he has chosen hockey
as a profession.
All joking aside, this is
one young man who has earned the respect, not only of his fellow NHL
colleagues, but also more importantly of his long-time friends who welcome
the opportunity to spend some quality time hitting the links or running
the bases on the diamond with a man who is putting Valley East on the map
around the world. During the 2008 Valley East Sports Hall of Fame
Ceremonies, Andrew received a standing ovation from the crowd when
introduced in recognition of the contributions he has made to his home
town since becoming a professional athlete. Everyone in
Valley East
wishes Andrew Brunette all
the best as he continues his career in the National Hockey League. |
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Daryl Sittler Adds Colour And Excitement To
2008 Valley East Sports Hall of Fame Ceremonies |
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Five more people became members of the Valley
East Sports Hall of Fame during the 10th Anniversary
celebrations which were held at the Centennial Arena on June 21. N.H.L.
Hockey Hall of Fame Legend Daryl Sittler was the guest speaker during the
sold-out event and didn’t disappoint any of the crowd as he made himself
available all evening to sign autographs and provided a very entertaining
speech.
Many of the 49 previously inducted hall of fame members were also
in attendance, including hockey greats
Frank St.
Marseilles
and Andrew Brunette.
Sittler paid tribute to the past Valley East Sports Hall of Fame
Members and presented the 2008 inductees with their commemorative plaques.
“Our community recognizes the exceptional achievements of the
Valley East
athletic community; athletes, coaches and community sponsors,” said Ron
Dupuis, the councilor responsible for initiating the Hall of Fame.
“We are so fortunate to have so many committed sports people in
Valley East
,” said Dupuis.
The 2008 inductees,
shown in the photo from left to right include:
In the volunteer category, we have Dick Decosse, who has been
involved in numerous sports and organizations since 1969. Dick is known as
one of the best umpires who ever took to the playing field in the Valley.
He has also been involved in minor hockey as a coach, convenor, ways and
means director, tournament chairman, sponsorship committee, vice president
and president. He coached in minor ball and is a half marathon runner,
having competed in six events to raise money for charities. His message to
the audience was, “Remember that to volunteer is not always easy because
sometimes you have to deal with characters. But volunteering is therapy
and it soothes the soul.” Decosse received a standing ovation from the
close to 400 guests at the ceremony, clearly indicative of his involvement
in the community for almost 40 years.
The Community Sponsor
inductee was Neil Lindenbach, owner of Neil’s Independent Grocers. Neil
grew up in the grocery business only to purchase the franchise he worked
at in the Valley. Lindenbach
has been a strong supporter of sports in his community.
Lindenbach commented at the ceremony, “as a child I proudly wore
Daryl Sittler’s name and number on my jersey and today I’m so
proud that young people in the Valley now wear my name on their
jerseys.”
Mike
Rusin was the inductee in the Professional Sports Category. Rusin had a 10
year career in the International Hockey League.
He was drafted in 1976 by the Flint Generals.
The
second inductee in the volunteer category was Conrad Laroque, For 25 years
Laroque has coordinated the Jug Curling event that is sold out in advance
every year with a long waiting list. He
has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for community groups and
capital campaigns through his Jug Curling fundraising.
The
Amateur Sports inductee was John Hawes.
Hawes dominated the Canadian bowling scene by winning Gold medals
six separate times in his bowling career.
Hawes has coached many other bowlers who have gone on to
illustrious careers in bowling as well. Hawes credits
Chico
’s Bowl for their longstanding commitment to bowling in the Valley and
for supporting so many bowlers, both young and old over the years.
In
the photo below, Daryl Sittler is shown taking time to sign an autograph
for a fan. Beside Sittler is Mayor John Rodriguez who was also one of the
guests of honour for the event. Across from Sittler is Ryan Benoit,
Provincial Ambassador for the Easter Seal Society in 2006, during which
time he first met Daryl.
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