The Canmore Eagles held their Annual General Meeting on Monday, June 3 and Team President Darryl Lockwood spoke of optimism as the club prepares for the upcoming 2013-14 Alberta Junior Hockey League season.
“Although there is still much work to be done, we have made a lot of progress over the past couple of seasons – both on and off the ice,” said Lockwood, of the community owned, not-for-profit hockey club. “We played very competitive hockey last season, finishing in fifth-place and compiling a 16-10-3 home record. Our attendance was up by 25% and our fund raising efforts such as 50-50 draw, Eagle’s Nest bar sales, Town Party, poker tournament and casino were all up substantially.”
One aspect that has Lockwood believing that the club is moving in the right direction is the fact that the franchise has some long-term stability in the front office.
Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne and Assistant Coach Jeremy Reich have made a commitment to the community by purchasing homes in Canmore during the past few months and Marketing Director John Ross is back on board to begin his third season with the club.
“Consistency is a huge factor in moving this franchise forward and I believe we have some excellent talent in our key positions,” said Lockwood. “Everyone is on board and pulling in the right direction.”
During the AGM, it was announced that long time supporters Joost Asselbergs and Leslie Vanderzwet have unfortunately stepped down from the Board of Directors.
Both Asselbergs, who was awarded the “Ken Pauls Senior” Award last season for “Outstanding Contribution”, and Vanderzwet will be missed tremendously as they both contributed countless volunteer hours to help out the club whenever necessary.
“We certainly regret their decision to resign their positions but wish to thank them very much for all their contributions throughout the years. They both worked extremely hard and volunteered a ton of hours to assist the hockey club. We are really going to miss them.”
During the course of the AGM, the club did welcome two new Board members to the club as Ward Rice and Michael McWhinnie agreed to come on board.
They will join existing Board members Al Doll, John Straw, Pat Semeniuk, Luke Turcotte, Matt Mitschke, Linda Geals, and Ken Samis.
