The First Annual Teddyshack Golf Tournament was held in July at Grill Marks Clearview Golf Club. Besides being a day during which 144 golfers were able to enjoy a beautiful day on the course, prizes, food and refreshments, it was a time to share stories and memories about their good friend, Ted Dore, whose life was taken on May 9, 2008 after a brief battle with stomach cancer. Teddy, who was a member of the Toronto Regional Police Department at the time of his death, was only 36 years of age and his passing touched the hearts of many people in this community.

   Some of the persons who shared the intense pain of Teddy’s struggle right to the end are shown in the accompanying photo. In the middle are Teddy’s parents, Annette and Gil. The “boys” in the background, from the left, include, Al Chenier, Scott Jeanveau, Steve Christakos, Dan Despatie, and Andrew Brunette.
  
   The tournament was held to initiate the Ted Dore Memorial Fund which has now been established as a sub-committee of the Valley East Renegades Association. A total of $9,000 was raised for the fund and will be made available to provide financial support to needy kids from the Valley who are in danger of being forced out of hockey because of costs.  

   In addition the Ted Dore Memorial Fund announced the donation of 50 brand new sets of hockey equipment, courtesy of the NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams fund. This donation is geared towards helping supplement the rising costs of hockey equipment for today’s minor hockey player.  Andrew Brunette, a star player with the Minnesota Wild who grew up and still lives in the community during the off-season, is thrilled about this opportunity to give back to the game he loved, “Over the last few years we toiled with the idea of opening a hockey equipment bank for the Valley East Community. The NHLPA’s Goals & Dreams Fund has allowed us to jumpstart this program with their generous donation.”  Andrew goes on to say, “With the downturn in the economy, this is the ideal time to establish a program of this nature.  The last thing a child should have to worry about is playing with proper equipment.”
  
   The Hockey Equipment Bank will loan out items of equipment to children in the Valley East Minor Hockey system, from ages 4 – 14, for the duration of the hockey season. At the end of the season, the equipment will be returned to the Bank for use the following year.  This program is designed for families that need assistance. For those families that wish to donate equipment, the Equipment Bank will gladly accept these “deposits”. A special hockey equipment donation drive will be organized in August and September to help increase the amount of equipment that is available through the bank.
  
   In 1999, the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) launched the Goals & Dreams fund as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love. The players’ program has donated full sets of hockey equipment to more than 9,000 economically challenged children in 17 countries and assisted with upgrades and the building of hundreds of arenas world-wide. To date, Goals & Dreams has donated more than $17-million to grassroots hockey programs around the world making it the largest program of its kind.

   As for the golf tournament, Team Hurley Mining finished the day with the lowest score at 16 under par. The team consisted of Bart Hurley, Bob Simoneau, Jeff Tyers, and Greg Husk. The top prize of the day went to Team King Sportswear who finished in 14^th place, symbolic of the number that Ted Dore wore while playing hockey in the Valley East Minor Hockey system. Dore’s number 14 has been officially retired by the Valley East Progressive Hockey Association in his memory. Most will agree that there will never be another person quite like Ted Dore.

   Valley East is once again proving that this is one of the most exciting communities in the City of Greater Sudbury as a result of the selection of Confederation Secondary School and the Raymond Plourde Arena as the host site of the Rainbow District School Board’s track and field meets for its elementary and secondary schools. On May 12, Alexander Public School took to the track for their annual meet. In the photo we see one of the heats for the Junior Boys 200 metre race.

   The Laurentian Community Track, where annual meets are usually held, is currently being rebuilt to accommodate local track meets in the future, encourage community participation and enable the City to host events such as the 2010 Summer Games. When all other sites were considered, it was determined that the Confederation site was the best one for accommodating the needs of the Board at this time.
 
   The Rainbow District School Board and the City of Greater Sudbury have been working together to prepare the Val Caron location to welcome thousands of students in May and June.

   Kim Carbone, on the left, a member of the Board of Directors with the Valley East Minor Basketball League, is extremely pleased with the interest that is being shown by young boys and girls in this popular sport. In the photo we see Maxine Blais and her twin brother, Alexandre, signing up for the Bantam Division during registrations which were held in September at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre.

   Maxine and Alexandre are both 13 years of age and attend Grade 8 at Ecole Catholique Jean Paul II in Val Caron. They both stated that they like the recreational nature of the league and are looking forward to playing basketball when they get into high school next year. They also play at their school and have an outdoor net at home.

   The league runs from mid-October to mid-April, with one practice and one game per week. The cost of registration ranges from $75 for Tykes to $100 for Midgets. Players are as young as five years of age to sixteen years at the Midget level. All games are played in local school gymnasiums.

   This is one sport which sits well with parents who want their children to enjoy a healthy sport without “breaking the bank”. All you need to play is a good pair of running shoes and a pair of shorts. Jerseys are supplied with your registration. Teams are chosen after a mandatory “try-out” which allows coaches to rate the players and create teams that are equal in skills to promote competition during the season.

On the ladies' side, it was perennial winner Paulette Carrier dominating the field right from the start. Paulette finished up with 87 on Saturday and 79 on Sunday for a two day total of 166. 

Karen Croteau came in runner-up position with a two day total of 189.

The photo below shows Ken Kauffeldt putting in the winning stroke, a bogie 5 on the 10th hole after Gates Piquette holed out with a double-bogie six. The victory was Kauffeldt's second Club Championship. He also won the title in 2005. His son, Jason, won the championship in 2006 before Peter Woitowich wrestled it from the Kauffeldt family in 2007. Ken's win in 2008 brought the title home once again.

   The First Annual Valley East Men's Open Golf Tournament, sponsored by Grill Marks Bistro and Nature's Haven Developments, was held at Grill Marks Clearview Golf Club on September 6 & 7.
  
   A total of 106 golfers took part in the two day event with Sudbury 's Mike Lemieux edging out Mike Doniec by a single stroke to take the title. Lemieux shot a three over par 75 on a very tough course layout to Doniec's 76. Third place went to local favourites from Hanmer, Rich Larochelle and Tim Phillips who came in with a 77. Roddy McLeod, formerly of Hanmer, now living in the Toronto area was next with a 78, just one shot ahead of Sudbury 's Tim Gordon.
  
   Lemieux is shown accepting his trophy from the owners of Grill Marks Clearview, from the left: Tyler Merrin, Christine Allsop, Lemieux, Lynda Allsop, and Jim Allsop. Tournament Director, Robert Kirwan, was very pleased with the entire weekend and is planning on speaking to the other golf course owners over the winter to see if there is interest in developing a Sudbury Tour during 2009.

  The event featured one of the richest prize packages ever offered in the Sudbury Area. Lemieux won the first place prize of $1000 plus a membership to the club for 2009 in addition to another $205 participation prize that was handed out to all players who took part in the tournament.

League Treasurer, Jeanine Bolger reported that The Valley East Mixed Slo-pitch Association is going stronger than ever this summer. They held their 24^th annual soft ball tournament in July and 20 teams entered the competition. The Division A Champions, the Damn Ducks, are shown in the accompanying photo.

The winners of the weekend tournament were as follows; 

Division A Champs – Damn Ducks, runner’s up Ball Busters.

Division B Champs – Broch-a-foins, runner’s up Star Mart

Division C Champs – Paralyzed Turtles, runner’s up Talbot Automotive

Division D Champs – JAFT, runner’s up Mobile Parts

Division E Champs – Cranky Joe’s, and runner’s up FunKINutz

      The 16^th Annual Valley Family Golf Centre Mini Masters Golf Tournament was held on August 16 at the region’s most popular driving range complex in Blezard Valley . Forty-nine boys and girls ranging from as young as four years old to fourteen years of age took part in the nine-hole tournament which was played on the par 30 Whistling Winds Golf Course which is part of the complex.
  
   Vic Whissell, owner of the Valley Family Golf Centre, first started the event to give young children a taste of what is like to play in a real golf tournament. They play by the rules ( for the most part ) and have their scores recorded, earning prizes for their efforts. He added a long drive, putting, and closest to the pin contests to add variety and excitement to the day. Ryan Abresch, the winner of the boy’s category in 1992, the very first year the event was played, has gone on to become one of the top young golfers in the area. The first girl’s winner was Meghan Pitura.
  
   The accompanying photo shows the group of the youngest golfers in the tournament as they finished the ninth hole and were about to make their way to the BBQ for a well deserved hot dog and refreshments.
  
   At the end of the day, the boy’s champion was Jordan Piette who shot a three over par, 33. Sarefina Giommi was the winner of the girl’s division with a 61.

   Winners of the different age categories were:

Ages 4/5/6 : Alexander Fawke with a round of 48;

Ages 7 & 8: Jordan Ferron with a round of 64;

Ages 9 & 10: Jodi Walker with a round of 39;

Ages 11 & 12: Trevor Labonte with a round of 49;

Ages 13 & 14: Jacob Smith with a round of 40.

   The long drive winner for the boys was Jodi Walker and for the girls it was Marzia Giommi.
  
   The putting contest was won by Austin Pawlik.

   The winner of the closest to the hole contest was Mathew Perry.

For as long as they can remember, the “boys” in the photo have gathered to take part in the Annual Valley East Men’s League Slo Pitch Tournament (known to many as the Barn Dance Tournament), taking time to enjoy a few holes of golf the day before the competition begins. This is something that they look forward to all year long and they have no plans on breaking the tradition any time soon.
 
From the left we have, Andrew Brunette, Al Chenier, Bob Simoneau, Brian Savard, Steve Fournier, Scott Jeanveau, Rob Fournier, and Dave Ballantyne. All of the guys grew up in Valley East , playing all sorts of minor sports and are following their own paths through life as adults.
  
   Just a few days before this photo was taken, Andrew Brunette, shown on the right lining up a chip off the first green, signed a new three-year $7 million contract with the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League.
 
The 35-year old Valley East native will be returning to the club where he played three seasons from 2001 to 2004 and ranks third on the franchise career list in assists, fifth in points and seventh in goals.

He spent the past three seasons in Colorado where he scored 70 goals and 135 assists for 205 points. He now has career totals of 191 goals and 358 assists for 549 points in 788 NHL games.
 
After signing Brunette, Minnesota Wild general manager, Doug Risebrough, who stated that he never should have let Andrew go in 2004, commented, "Andrew is a consistent offensive performer and an excellent teammate who helped create the culture of our team. We are better, on the ice and in the dressing room, with him back. Not often do you get the chance to correct a mistake."
  
Andrew Brunette is the current leader in the NHL Ironman competition, having played close to 600 consecutive games without an injury. No other current player has played as many games in a row, a true testament to his durability.
 
Andrew Brunette is already a member of the Valley East Sports Hall of Fame, having been one of the first inductees in the Professional Category in 1998.

   Five more people became members of the Valley East Sports Hall of Fame during the 10^th Anniversary celebrations which were held at the Centennial Arena on June 21. N.H.L. Hockey Hall of Fame Legend Daryl Sittler was the guest speaker during the sold-out event and didn’t disappoint any of the crowd as he made himself available all evening to sign autographs and provided a very entertaining speech.

   Many of the 49 previously inducted hall of fame members were also in attendance, including hockey greats Frank St. Marseilles and Andrew Brunette.

   Sittler paid tribute to the past Valley East Sports Hall of Fame Members and presented the 2008 inductees with their commemorative plaques.  “Our community recognizes the exceptional achievements of the Valley East athletic community; athletes, coaches and community sponsors,” said Ron Dupuis, the councilor responsible for initiating the Hall of Fame.  “We are so fortunate to have so many committed sports people in Valley East ,” said Dupuis.
 
   The 2008 inductees, shown in the photo from left to right include:

   In the volunteer category, we have Dick Decosse, who has been involved in numerous sports and organizations since 1969. Dick is known as one of the best umpires who ever took to the playing field in the Valley. He has also been involved in minor hockey as a coach, convenor, ways and means director, tournament chairman, sponsorship committee, vice president and president. He coached in minor ball and is a half marathon runner, having competed in six events to raise money for charities. His message to the audience was, “Remember that to volunteer is not always easy because sometimes you have to deal with characters. But volunteering is therapy and it soothes the soul.” Decosse received a standing ovation from the close to 400 guests at the ceremony, clearly indicative of his involvement in the community for almost 40 years.

   The Community Sponsor inductee was Neil Lindenbach, owner of Neil’s Independent Grocers. Neil grew up in the grocery business only to purchase the franchise he worked at in the Valley.  Lindenbach has been a strong supporter of sports in his community.  Lindenbach commented at the ceremony, “as a child I proudly wore Daryl Sittler’s name and number on my jersey and today I’m so proud that young people in the Valley now wear my name on their jerseys.”  

   Mike Rusin was the inductee in the Professional Sports Category. Rusin had a 10 year career in the International Hockey League.  He was drafted in 1976 by the Flint Generals.

   The second inductee in the volunteer category was Conrad Laroque, For 25 years Laroque has coordinated the Jug Curling event that is sold out in advance every year with a long waiting list.  He has helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for community groups and capital campaigns through his Jug Curling fundraising.

   The Amateur Sports inductee was John Hawes.  Hawes dominated the Canadian bowling scene by winning Gold medals six separate times in his bowling career.  Hawes has coached many other bowlers who have gone on to illustrious careers in bowling as well. Hawes credits Chico ’s Bowl for their longstanding commitment to bowling in the Valley and for supporting so many bowlers, both young and old over the years.

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