Volunteer of the Year Award – Fort McMurray Minor Hockey

Volunteer of the year

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Our association thrives because of the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. While it’s important that everyone contributes, some volunteers go above and beyond—taking on multiple roles, stepping up to cover extra shifts during events, and consistently promoting a positive and supportive hockey community.

To recognize these exceptional efforts, two recipients will be selected each season:

Director/Chair Category – Awarded to a volunteer serving in a leadership role who has shown outstanding commitment and leadership in supporting FMMHA’s operations and growth.
General Category – Awarded to a volunteer who has made a significant impact through their time, effort, and dedication in any capacity within FMMHA.

Recipients will be chosen from nominated volunteers who are considered to have made an outstanding contribution in each category during the current season. Nominees may have participated in special events, supported general administration, contributed to Angel Hours, or taken on a variety of other roles.

These awards celebrate the individuals who truly make a difference in building a strong and vibrant hockey community.

Nomination Deadline

July 30, 2025

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the FMMHA Volunteer Award, nominees must meet the following criteria:

Minimum Hours: Volunteered for a minimum of 40 hours during the last Minor Hockey season.
Compliance: Adhered to all FMMHA governing directives related to budget, fundraising, and branding while fulfilling their role.
Positive Impact: Demonstrated a commitment to improving FMMHA by supporting the philosophy of "creating positive opportunities and experiences for all players through innovative leadership and exceptional service."
Outstanding Contribution: Shown exceptional dedication by participating in special events, assisting with general administration, supporting Angel Hours, or contributing in other meaningful ways to promote a positive hockey community.
Leadership and Teamwork: Displayed a willingness to take on additional responsibilities, step up when needed, and foster a strong, supportive environment within the association.

These criteria reflect the spirit of the FMMHA Volunteer Award, recognizing those who go above and beyond to make a lasting impact on our hockey community.

The Executive Board will review and vote on all nominations that meet the eligibility criteria. Selection will be based on the nomination details and how well the nominee’s contributions align with FMMHA’s philosophy of volunteerism and community impact.

Nominate Volunteer of the Year Now

Meet Our Award Recipients

2023-24 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20

2023-24

Volunteer of the Year – General

Recipient: Don Metz

Don Metz has been an invaluable member of our association for many years, coaching multiple teams while raising three children through our programs. When his youngest, Kendra—a proud alumna of our Huskies Female Program—graduated, Don took on the role of Female Huskies Director.

In this role, Don worked tirelessly to strengthen our relationships with Hockey Alberta and build the program into what it is today. Although he stepped down this season, Don continues to make an impact as an assistant coach for the U11 Huskies, where he mentors our first returning female alumni head coach—his daughter, Kendra.

Thank you, Don, for your unwavering commitment to the growth of our association.

Volunteer of the Year – Hockey Operations

Recipient: Ed Gardiner

A few years ago, Ed Gardiner began volunteering as Chair for the U11 Classics alongside his wife, Kayla. After managing multiple tournaments, Ed graciously accepted the role of U13 Division Director. His dedication and leadership immediately stood out, and I knew I had found my successor.

Last season, Ed stepped up as U15 Director. When we couldn’t find someone to fill the U18 Director role, Ed took that on as well. Mid-season, when our U13 Director stepped down, Ed stepped in yet again.

Congratulations, Ed, on being named Volunteer of the Year for Hockey Operations.

2022-23

2 Awards were decided for the 2022-23 Season:

Volunteer of the Year - Executive/ Director
Volunteer of the Year - General

Nominations:

Ed & Kayla Gardiner
Kyle Borle
Michelle Carroll
Chelsea Francis-Barrow
Brian Hodgson

Volunteer of the Year - General - Chelsea Francis- Barrows

Chelsea has dedicated her entire career to the FMMHA, starting as a young player and growing through the ranks. Last season, while playing for the U18 Huskies, Chelsea also served as an assistant coach for both the Inclusion Royals and the U13 Huskies teams. Her commitment extends beyond her own aspirations; Chelsea is passionate about helping younger players achieve their dreams too.

"From her early days as a young player to her current roles as both a player and an assistant coach on two different teams, Chelsea has invested her heart into both the sport and the community. Her dedication surpasses personal achievements; Chelsea's passion for mentoring younger players epitomizes her true character, making her an invaluable asset to FMMHA and a beacon of hard work and dedication for our players." - Nomination form

Volunteer of the Year - Executive/ Director - Kyle Borle

Kyle has been an indispensable member of our team, serving as our Goalie Director for several years. With two goalies of his own, he intimately understands the significance of nurturing the development and dynamics of all our goalies and ensuring their proper placement within teams. At the start of each season, Kyle invests significant time and effort evaluating players, collaborating with directors, addressing concerns, and working closely with our partners to enhance our goalie program. His dedication doesn't stop there; Kyle also plays an active role as a manager for the Huskies and regularly attends the Female AGMs to contribute to the ongoing success of that program. Through his unwavering commitment and tireless efforts, both on and off the ice, Kyle plays a pivotal role in the advancement of our goalies and the overall prosperity of our organization.

"Kyle's dedication and support have been invaluable to our U11 Huskies girls' team this year. Having been part of the Huskies program for three years, I can confidently say that he and his wife Kim have exceeded all our expectations. Their positivity, organization, and approachability set a new standard for team management.

2021-22

With so many nominations that came in this season, the executive decided on 3 awards for this category:

Volunteer of the Year - Program Building
Volunteer of the Year - Executive/ Director
Volunteer of the Year - General

Volunteer of the Year - Program Building - MELANIE BELLOWS

Melanie is a team Manager and Assistant coach for the Inclusion Royals program and has been Instrumental in growing the program. From securing coaches, working with the visiting teams, planning off ice team events and organizing fundraising.

"Melanie enrolled her 2 sons in the Inclusion Royals program in our first year of the program. I can distinctly remember ushering her off the bench and away so she could have that “Hockey mom experience” - She helped wherever she could, Then the next year she was managing the team - teaching herself to skate to help when short coaches - now she is all around taking care of this team and a vital part of growing this AMAZING program." - Nomination form

Volunteer of the Year - Executive/ Director - KATHY LOCKEN

Kathy served as a division director for 3 years and spent Hours on many hockey operations activities. The 2021-22 post COVID season was particularly hard in her U13 division. With the amount of players and lack of Goaltenders, Kathy needed to get very creative to ensure every team always had a goalie for practices and games. Kathy spent many hours supporting the other division directors and doing many additional tasks for VP Operations.

“Kathy Spent 2 years as our U11 Director and anyone who has had these conversations with me knows I am brutally honest in how much work these roles are - she took this on with Gusto and a big smile. Then she moved into U13 which has its own challenges and again Kathy Always goes the extra mile for the kids and our association” - JodyAnn McSkimming, VP Operations

Volunteer of the Year - General - Krista Power & Stewart Ross

This dynamic duo have had 3 kids through the association and have worn many hats from coach, manager, raffle director, fundraising coordinator, development sessions and the list goes on.

Stewart Ross Has been coaching in our organization since 2011 when his Son Emin was in Novice (Now U9) , every year since he has either volunteered or been Voluntold to coach as he is always one of our “go to” when we are short coaches. His passion for the game, his players and his team always shines through.

Krista Power has not only supported stew in his coaching but she too has picked up many hats , serving as our raffle director for multiple years, managing various teams and chasing 3 teams at times to pick up all the slack.

Their nomination form reads: ”Stew is a role model to all players and coaches with his love for the game and the kids. He is a personable, level headed, inclusive and motivating coach through hard work and fun. Stew and Krista are always encouraging team building opportunities for their teams. Anything that will help bond the kinds on and off the ice. Krista never hesitates to help and support her manager to make it happen. They are not in it for 3 kids - they are in it for all Kids''

Nominations:

Melanie Bellows ( Inclusion Royals)
Ed & Kayla Gardiner ( U11 and U13 Classic Chairs)
Stew & Krista Ross (All around involvement in FMMHA)
Kathy Locken ( U13 Director)
Renee Hantlemann (Managing multiple teams)
Kailee Kopetski (U15 Director)

2020-21

The 2020 - 2021 Volunteer of the year -

Executive/Director is Awarded to Shane Chapman!
General Volunteer is Awarded to Luana Donahue!

Volunteer of the year - General Volunteer

As a mom to four players in our association you can find Luana engaged in helping out in so many different roles from picking up tasks to help out their team managers to putting in numerous hours for evaluations on data entry. In the 2020-21 season, After completing the 20 required hours for her 4 children she continued on to cover for some no show shifts, Just to help. She then saw that her youngest child's team needed some help on the ice, so she learned how to skate, took the required certifications and stepped out on the ice. No job is too big or too small for this GEM who just keeps on giving to FMMHA.

“This woman got on the ice every ice time with no hockey experience let alone she barely knew how to skate, she has inspired us so much. She was an amazing coach on the ice with the kids and was such a great value to the team as a whole!” from nomination form

Volunteer of the year - Executive/Director

In Addition to being an active coach for FMMHA for many years. Shane is currently the Elite Division director, after serving 4 years as Goalie director for FMMHA, also the first Goalie director Shane really stepped up to the plate to develop a fair Goaltending evaluation process, a voice for Goalie parents to air their frustrations, and an experienced advisor to help division directors place goaltenders on correct teams after evaluations.

“A prime example of what Shane does for all our Kids and always goes above and beyond is when we had no Goaltender interested for our U11 female team. Shane signed out some gear from our equipment director, went to the U11 female practices with this gear and had kids try on gear - he was determined to help find a player interested in the position and he was a success. He is always bringing new ideas to the executive to grow goaltender development and really pushed for investment into our intro to Goalie programs that will align with the intro to hockey program” from nomination form

2019-20

The 2019 - 2020 Volunteer of the year is awarded to Paula Bolt!

Paula is currently the Treasurer of Special Events for FMMHA. She volunteered 2 years ago as the Minor Hockey Week Treasurer and participated in all special events. Paula’s contributions and leadership to each event morphed into the special events treasurer role. During the 2019-2020 season, Paula has been an inspiration showing us what it truly is to go above and beyond as a volunteer in our organization. She was recognized for the countless hours she puts in supporting the event Chairs to make them a success and the selflessness and teamwork it takes to run events in the organization.

“She is always willing to roll up her sleeves and help. I calculated that Paula covered more than 40 Hours of selling 50/50 tickets and at Least 20 more working tournament rooms when we could not get volunteers. In short she will do whatever it takes to make sure these events are covered.”

From her Nomination Form

Volunteer of the year Nomination form

CONSENT
I authorize the Fort McMurray Minor Hockey Association to release my name and quote my nomination submission. I certify that the information provided is accurate to the best of my knowledge.

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I certify that I am nominating as a Member in good standing with FMMHA as a:

Information about the Member you are nominating
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Approximately how many hours has the nominee volunteered during the last Minor Hockey season?

Did the nominee demonstrate adherence to FMMHA’s directives related to budget, fundraising, and branding? In what ways did they conduct themselves in a respectful and supportive manner toward other volunteers while following the guidelines set out in the Game and Conduct Manual? Please provide specific examples of how this nominee has positively impacted hockey operations.

In what ways has the nominee supported the FMMHA philosophy of "creating positive opportunities and experiences for all players through innovative leadership and exceptional service"? Please provide specific examples of how their actions align with this philosophy and how they have positively impacted you, a specific player/team, or the association as a whole. Can you provide examples of how this volunteer has made a significant impact on our community?

In what ways has the nominee gone above and beyond in their volunteer role? Please provide examples such as taking on extra shifts, participating in special events, supporting Angel Hours, or filling multiple roles. Additionally, explain why this person deserves the Volunteer of the Year award over the other nominees. What sets them apart as the best choice for this honor?