A final Voyageurs blog

Before I hit the road for my amazing new position as broadcaster of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL I’d like to thank a list of people who continuously work to prolong the success of the Portage College Voyageurs.

First of all, I would like to say that the past three and a half years in Lac La Biche have been an absolute pleasure. I cannot imagine a better place for a person to start their broadcasting career.

My time here has allowed me to meet and interview incredible people from all walks of life. For the opportunities this job and this town have provided, I cannot be more gracious.

Nothing would have ever transpired between Newcap Broadcasting, Big Dog 103.5 and the Portage College without the support of its former President, Bill Persley. Mr. Persley always welcomed me into his office with a wide smile, a firm handshake and treated me as if we had been playing golf together for 20 years. The community of Lac La Biche is lucky to have a current college President like Trent Keough.

Without their support and the work of great college staff such as Leona Gellar and Diana Cook there never would have been a broadcast to speak of.

Covering the Portage Voyageurs was an easy job with the help of Head Coach Terry Ewasiuk and his staff; Clint Trimble, Chaffic Moghrabi, Steve Henderson and behind-the-scenes gurus Lorne Moen and Reno Laroque. Thanks to these people, the Voyageurs never miss a beat, at home, on the road.. or on freezing cold North Dakotan highways.

Terry was never too busy for an interview, a quiet chat about the team or an opinion on the ACAC, Even when he was too busy I could count on a phone call in no less than an hour for a long chat with the coach. For his help in making the coverage of the team so seamless and simple, I thank him greatly.

Massive accolades go out to all members of the PCAA (Portage College Athletics Association) for which I’ve been a member for over three years. The work these people do behind the scenes to keep this program strong is constant and thankless. Lac La Biche is fortunate to have such great people.

It would be foolish to overlook the contributions of Portage College Voyageur players who made every game a privilege to watch and cover, without the efforts of former and current players such as Chris Glen, Brendan Lamb, Ian Hall, Gerald Desjerlais, Leo Keefer and many, MANY more this program would not be as strong as it is today. Thank you for your efforts on the ice and in this community.

Going to the rink to watch a game won’t be the same without intermission chats with rink announcer Stephen Klassen, You always gave me great insight over your decaf coffee, your extra pair of eyes never ceased to help the broadcast. It’s too bad we could never steal you away from those loud speakers for a comfy colour position.

Huge thanks go out to those who jumped in the broadcast booth to help commentate, thanks to Rick Flumian, Dan Harvard, Dan Nadeau, Matt Rogers, Dan Gallant and all Voyageur players who were willing over the past three years.

I’d like to say great thanks to our amazing voices at the Centennial Arena and Bold Center, Nadine Gordey-Landstrom and Lauren Wells. Your stirring performances of O Canada were better than anything a black coffee or energy drink could provide.

A final thank you to the arena staff, volunteers, bus drivers and of course the fans, locals, parents and listeners who would tune in to hear all the action, thank you for your support and kind words that made the broadcasts even more fun.

I’d like to say a final thank you to Dan Gallant, who supported me in all my efforts to get broadcasts going as soon as the team was on the ice. Leigh Steele for three years of pushing buttons in a dark studio and most of all to my parents, who never missed a broadcast, except the first ever game, they sat 20 feet in front of me with their radio and head phones, thank you.