Celebration 2010 awards recognize 30 Orléans sports volunteers

Here are the bios from each of the winners:

Alistair Butt

Two years ago, Alistair decided he wanted to coach Atom-level basketball with the Gloucester-Cumberland Basketball Association, the only problem was that head coaches need to be at least 18 years of age.

Alistair got around this by recruiting his father and older brother to act as the “official” co-head coaches, although he was the defacto head coach. The team didn’t win a game during the early part of the season, but by Christmas they had turned the corner and eventually ended up finishing in first place.

Alistair completed his Level 1 National Coaching Certificate training course last summer and this year he will be eligible to coach the GCBA Select team. In the meantime, he is back coaching his Atom squad who refer to him simply as “Coach Al.”

Chris Molinski

Chris has been a head coach with the Cumberland Panthers football club for the past nine years where he has coached every age group from Tyke to Peewee.

Last year, he was appointed as head coach of the club’s fledgling OV Peewee team which finished with a 6-4 record in their inaugural season and made it all the way to the conference semi-finals.

Chris sees his main purpose in coaching as being a role model for his players and helping them become the best they can be both on and off the field.

Lee Ann Napiorkowski

Lee Ann is the senior boys’ rugby coach at St. Peter Catholic High School in Orléans. Under her tutelage and guidance the program has made it to the city championship in each of the last three years, winning it once in 2007 and again in 2009.

Like many of her fellow teacher/coaches, Lee Ann devotes many hours of her free time to coaching. It is thanks to the efforts of teachers like Lee Ann that students are afforded a well-rounded education that includes competitive sports.

Michel Cadieux

Michel has donated countless hours to help provide an outlet for “midde-age” jocks in Orléans to play their favourite sport of softball once a week.

As league president, he works with city staff to ensure park availability, light and field maintenance, deals with sports suppliers and sponsors to ensure quality and safe uniforms and equipment, creates league schedules for the six teams that play every Monday night at Carriere Park, schedules umpires, and organizes fundraising events during the season including the year end banquet.

In addition, he keeps the league website updated on a weekly basis for fans and players alike.

Charles Dufton

Chuck, as he is known to his friends and peers, is a dedicated volunteer in a variety of sports. Over the years he has served as an umpire, umpire instructor and umpire-in-chief for both the OLLB and District 6.

As a referee, he can be seen both on the ice and in the stands supervising and mentoring younger officials. He was a previous referee-in-chief for District 9 and the AAA league.

Chuck was also involved with the Gloucester Association for Children With Special Needs and served as the director for many years in the 1990s.

He also helped establish the Little League Challenger Division in Orléans with another volunteer, Dan Beaupre, The Little League Challenger Division of baseball allows special needs children the opportunity and availability to play baseball.

Jim Button

This past fall coach Jim served as the head coach of the North Gloucester Giants Mosquito football team during what was a challenging season.

At one point, the team lost six games in a row. During that stretch, Coach Button never waivered in his support for his players.

As Jacob Falsetto wrote in his letter nominating Mr. Button, “Coach Jim just kept telling us that he believes in us and he knows we can win!”

Because of Coach Button’s positive attitude and encouraging coaching style, the team won their last two games of the year and captured the NCAFA ‘C’ Cup Championship.

Once again, in Jacob’s words: “We could not have won if it wouldn’t have been for our coach and the rest of our awesome coaching staff. They never gave up on us. They just kept encouraging us to do our best.”

Congratulations Coach Button.

Katherine Borsato

For the last four years, Katherine has contributed countless hours coaching cheerleading for young girls between the ages of six and 16 for the Orléans Bengals Football Club.

Not only has she taught them the physical attributes to become great cheerleaders, she has taught them valuable qualities such as hard work, dedication and teamwork, which they will use in all aspects in their lives.

Katherine is a leader in the community, an outstanding student, and a role model for all young girls.

Dennis Prouse

Coach Prouse is the head coach of the Mews Orléans Bengals Peewee squad. He has an excellent rapport with people of all ages and his enthusiasm is matched only by his ability to inspire players to develop the intangible qualities that make a team successful such as desire, work ethic, toughness, and dedication.

Coach Prouse builds on the trust gained with the players on the football field to encourage dedication to academic and social success, ensuring that players, who are fully engaged in his program, finish the season stronger physically, mentally, academically, and socially.

Rob McIntosh

Rob has coached house league soccer with the Cumberland United Soccer Club for the past three years. During his first year coaching in Orléans, Rob was assigned a temporary duty at Canadian Forces Base – Alert.

Prior to his departure, he ensured a new coach was in place and he followed the boys’ progress through his conversations back home.

After returning to Orléans in 2008 he agreed to coach both of his sons’ soccer teams. What is most remarkable about his dual coaching responsibilities is the fact that each of his sons were injured during the season. Nevertheless, Rob honoured his commitment and ensured both his boys were there to cheer on their teammates.

Tammy Youssef

Tammy Youssef is truly one of the unsung heroes of the Mews Orléans Bengals Football Club. She volunteers as both the Club Registrar and as the Team Manager for the Peewee team, which is made up of kids 13- and 14-year-olds.

These jobs are usually staffed by two volunteers, but Tammy saw the need and was willing to fill both roles in 2009. Filling two key volunteer roles would be enough for most people, but Tammy refused to stop there.

Tammy recognized that there were children at risk in the community due to the disturbing growth of bullying. She encouraged the club to think of a way to help combat the problem.

From that was born the “Be a Bengal, not a Bully” program, which encourages players from all age groups to meet together to hear from outside speakers to help them define the problem and come up with solutions.

Thus far, the response has been phenomenal and demonstrates the club’s commitment to have an impact on the community beyond the football field.

Denis Normand

Denis is someone whose name is said with reverence by those people in the Orléans minor hockey community who know him, yet he is relatively unknown to others despite the vast amount of volunteer work he does for the Orléans Minor Hockey Association.

Denis has been volunteering with the OMHA for years, starting out as a team manager with his son’s team at a young age. When his son hit the Atom division, Denis started volunteering with the Orléans Atom Tournament, which is now in its 34th year.

Most people stick around for a year or two while their child is at the Atom level, others maybe a bit longer if they have a couple of children going through the system. Denis’ son is now finishing up high school, yet Denis still spends hundreds, if not thousands of hours each year working on behalf of the OMHA as the main force behind their annual tournament.

The fact that he does it all with a smile and makes everyone around him all want to return the following year is a credit to his efforts.

Jean Lepage

Jean’s volunteer coaching career dates back 44 years to 1966 when he was a high school teacher in Ottawa and coached a variety of sports. Shortly after he retired in 2001, Jean started coaching the Gloucester Hornets team made up of boys born in 1993.

His team’s recent accomplishments are most impressive. Jean spends an average of about 30 hours a week in volunteer coaching and related activities.

Alain Roy

Alain played an important role in organizing a team of 30 kids aged 12 and 13 to represent Ottawa-Orléans at les Jeux de l'Acadie, which took place in Petit Rocher, New Brunswick last June.

In organizing the team. M. Roy had to recruit coaches, volunteer chaperons and logistics. He also came up with a sponsorship program to help defray travel costs.

Without his efforts, these kids would have never experienced the extraordinary gathering of young people in the spirit of fair play, friendly competition and camaraderie.

Michel Brunet

Michel has been volunteering in minor hockey for the past 10 years. Presently, he is doing double duty as the coach of the Blackburn Stingers Peewee ‘A’ team and assistant coach for the Blackburn Stingers Bantam ‘B1’ team.

Michel is very approachable by both parents and players alike for advice, ideas, questions and concerns. He is very respected by all players who are, or have, played under him as a coach, and by all the parents. He instills a love for the game to all that play for him.

Chantal Lefebvre

Chantal is the head coach of the senior boys’ volleyball team at Béatrice-Desloges high school. In five years, she has taken the team from Tier 2 challenger to perennial Tier 1 contenders culminating in the school’s first city championship in 2008.

In 2009, they earned a berth in the OFSAA championships by defeating Hillcrest in the play-in game after the two teams were knocked out of the semi-finals.

Chantal is not only a coach, but she is often a den mother. Her players love and respect her and the bond that they form during their high school years lasts long after they have graduated.

Jim Mick

Coach Mick has been involved with the St. Peter Knights football program since the school unveiled their junior team in 1992. Five years later, he coached the school’s senior team to their first-ever city championship.

Over the years, the Knights have developed into one of the most successful high school football programs in the city. They’ve won seven city championships and two OFSAA championships in 2004 and 2009.

Coach Mick has devoted hundreds of hours of his spare time outside the classroom to developing the leadership skills of his players – many of whom have gone on to successful careers.

Pat and Evelyn Hollinger

Pat and Evelyn have been working as volunteers for the City of Ottawa for the past two years teaching karate for people as young as six at the Queenswood Heights Community Centre.

Together they teach these programs in the fall, winter and spring twice a week for three hours a night and 12 weeks per session. For the past two years they have increased their volunteering hours by introducing self-defense courses for girls and women, as well as street-proofing workshops for children between the ages of eight and 12.

They put 100 per cent and more into everything they do for their programs. They spend hours and hours researching ideas, finding literature, program material and videos to ensure that they are providing the best service possible.

Their dedication to their fellow citizens through their volunteer efforts is truly impressive.

Richard Vey

Rick is a third-degree blackbelt who volunteers a great deal of time promoting his sport and encouraging others as a referee, coach, and instructor.

He also coordinates black belt training sessions at the Elite Martial Arts, Kickboxing & Fitness Center. What makes Rick’s dedicated efforts that much more impressive is the fact that he is employed within the Canadian Armed Forces and his position requires a tremendous amount of traveling throughout the country.

This being said, Rick dedicates most of his "free" time to the sport of karate.

Rick Foy

Rick has happily volunteered and devoted 28 of his 46 years to the development of hundreds of players, mainly at the all-important grassroots level, as a coach and mentor in a variety of minor sports including football, baseball, softball, soccer and hockey – often at the same time.

He also volunteers at his daughter’s school as a coach and chauffeur. Through it all, Coach Foy’s main focus has been to pass on the tools and skills he has learned as a participant to his players so they can aim to be the best they can be at whatever goal they are striving for.

Linda Cunningham

An Orléans resident, Linda has been a high school rugby coach in Ottawa since 1997. She was the longest serving community-based coach in the history of Colonel By Secondary School. When she left in 2001 she was presented with a varsity letter.

Five years ago, she started a rugby program at St. Matthew Catholic High School, where she co-coaches the girls’ and boys’ teams with her husband, Paul.

She has been on the executive of the Ottawa Irish Rugby Club for more than eight years, including a two-year term as president. During her tenure with the club, she has brought her love of the game to players of all ages, including the under-12 age group.

Linda’s dedication to the sport of rugby over the years is truly inspirational. Congratulations Linda.

Arlene Schroeder

Arlene has been a volunteer with the Gloucester Synchronized Swimming Club for more than 10 years. She is a long-standing member of the executive and is the backbone of the club.

She is a dedicated individual who works tirelessly at making sure the club operates smoothly on a daily basis. Arlene has assumed many different volunteer positions within the club, and often takes on many roles at once.

She is always enthusiastic, ready to lend a helping hand and go the extra mile. In summary, Arlene is the lifeblood of the Gloucester Synchronized Swimming Club which would not be where it is today without her ongoing support and dedication. Congratulations Arlene.

John Reid

John has been involved in minor sports for just about all of his adult life. At various times, he’s been a coach, manager, general manager and on-ice official.

John was also involved in the ODMHA/ODHA Branch level as a senior supervisor involved with the discipline and appeal board. Even though his RCMP career had him move from city to city, John managed to maintain his active participation in minor hockey.

He is now the Referee in Chief of the ODMHA, the ODMHA Director of Discipline and Appeals, a Hockey Canada instructor (teaching both junior and senior level officials) and a senior supervisor. He is also an active on-ice official for District 9 and officiates local men’s league games.

Mark Magee

Mark has been involved in minor sports in Cumberland since 1995. Over the years he’s coached hockey, baseball, football, cross-country running and basketball at both the high school and community level.

Even though his kids are no longer involved in minor sports, Mark still finds time to pass along his knowledge and love of the sport to a new generation of athletes.

For the past four years, he has also volunteered to manage and maintain the outdoor rink in Scala Park.

Gerry Ferguson

Gerry first got involved with the Gloucester Little League in 1992 as an assistant coach for his uncle, Clint Black.

Over the next 19 years, he would serve as a coach, convenor, equipment manager and registrar. Eight years ago, he took on the added responsibilities of equipment manager for the Gloucester Rangers Jr. ‘A’ hockey team – a position he still holds.

Gerry is truly one of our sport community’s unsung heroes, rolling up his sleeves to help out wherever he can without any expectation of accolades or high praise.

Mike Lanos

Mike first started coaching soccer when he was just 15 years old. Thirty years later, he’s still involved as the technical director and co-head coach of the Gloucester Hornets Soccer Club.

Mike measures his success as a coach by the number of former players who come back to pass along their knowledge of the game to younger players, and in fact, five of his former players are part-time instructors at the club’s numerous clinics.

Rick Despatie

“Coach Rick” is an institution in high school basketball, particularly at St. Matthew Catholic High School where he coaches the intermediate, junior and senior girls’ teams, which is no small feat considering that their seasons overlap.

As you can guess, this requires an enormous amount of time and effort especially during the tournament season.

Dwayne Cowick, Eric Kukkonen, Gloucester Concordes

Celebration 2010 awards were also presented to Dwayne Cowick, the father of Ottawa 67’s forward Corey Cowick, Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School football team coach Eric Kukkonen and the group of volunteers from the Gloucester Concordes Speedskating Club.

––Biographies courtesy office of Phil McNeely