Appreciation is often felt, but not as often shown or spoken out loud. That was the idea behind the Posse Volunteer Thank-you Dinner. Marketing Director, George Elliot said, “the volunteers are such a key component to what we do. It is impossible for this hockey club to function without them. We are so fortunate and really spoiled to have such a good group helping us out and always there game after game. They all play a key role in the success of the club.”

With an almost entirely new executive this year, Elliot said, “we wanted to have the thank-you at the beginning of the year and use it as a chance for everyone to meld as a group. It is these little building blocks and the fellowship joining together that makes everything work. The new executive has a collective focus and we want the volunteers to know how important they are to our team,” Elliot added. “The bottom line is its the volunteers who keep the program moving forward and successful plain and simple.”

The dinner was held at Billy’s Restaurant on Wednesday, September 23. Mayor McLean agreed to offer up his restaurant as the venue and provided the dinners to the Posse club at a reduced rate. “We appreciate Randy’s help pulling this dinner off,” stated Elliot. “We need to thank Billy’s for that.”

The Posse club used the event to make a couple of special presentations. Herb Hodgson was given a Posse jacket for “the ton of work he has done taking care of our bottle drop donations,” praised Coach Dale “Duner” Hladun . “The bottle drop donations really help us out and Herb has been a big part of that.”

Coach Duner said, “there are so many people that help us out and we really wouldn’t have a team without them. The ticket sellers, security, time keepers, billet organizers, fundraising organizers - just everyone - do a lot to help our club out and we really do appreciate it. They do a lot for us and we need to give back to them sometimes.”

The jersey with the #1 was retired during the dinner. “The volunteers and the fans are #1 and we wanted them to know that,” said Duner.

The dinner was also used to try and encourage more community involvement. The club was able to recruit 5 new volunteers. They are still looking for a couple of billet families. “These guys are a great bunch of kids,” said Duner “and we really need a couple more families to help us out and give them someplace to live for the season.”

The club can always use some new volunteers. They have a terrific group on board now. Together the new volunteers and the existing volunteers are making a difference, not just for the team, but for a community. Princeton reaps the financial rewards from tournaments and game nights and all that goes with bringing more people into our town. Appreciation seems like a small way of honouring those who care. To volunteer phone Posse Executive President Jim Manion at 250-295-8155.