The Ontario Minor Hockey Association presented its awards at the Annual General Meeting held at the Sheraton Parkway Hotel on June 13th to recognize the outstanding achievements of its athletes and volunteers. 

The OMHA Honour Award is a prestigious award presented to an individual who has made an outstanding voluntary contribution to minor hockey for a considerable period of time. Joe Bentolila of the Aurora Minor Hockey Association was recognized as this year’s recipient. Joe has held numerous roles including Trainer, Manager, Fundraising Director, and has held the position of President for eleven years. Under Joe's leadership, Aurora Minor Hockey sponsor charity events such as, the "Food Drive" for the local food bank, Jonathans Christmas Gift Drive, "Equipment Collection" for Inuit Hockey Programs and a Golf Tournament in support of the Aurora Minor Hockey Association Player Scholarship Award.  Joe’s dedication to his community is evident through the growth of the annual "Battle of Yonge Street" with Newmarket Minor Hockey. The event focuses on great competition, sportsmanship and teamwork with a healthy dose of emotion and fun. It is important to Joe to teach the youth of Aurora  how fortunate they all are to be able to play the great game of hockey. 

The Patricia Hartley Administrators Award is given in recognition of exemplary service in the field of sports administration. This award reflects the achievements of a local executive board member or volunteer staff person in managing the efficient operations of an association for the betterment of hockey.  The recipient of this years’ award is Carol Belanger of Bradford Minor Hockey. Carol has served as a member of the Bradford Minor hockey Association for over ten years. She held numerous positions on the executive including Secretary, Registrar, Treasurer and BMHA- Ontario Minor Hockey Association Delegate. Carol  is currently the Convenor administering the hockey programs for Minor and Major Bantam, AA, A, and A/E in the York Simcoe Minor Hockey League. Carol spends countless hours ensuring the division schedules are input, finalized and games scores updated. Carol's many years of Minor Hockey experience are an invaluable asset for the OMHA Regional Executive Members, other conveners, center delegates and ice schedulers.

The inaugural OMHA Excellence in Development Award was established to recognize and honour individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to hockey development programming in minor hockey. Mark Viminetz of Whitby Minor Hockey was one of two presented with this award. Immediately upon taking over the role of Development Director for Whitby MHA, Mark evaluated and implemented a fully integrated program that combined Hockey Canada’s development model with Player and Coach development. This program is now a foundation for every rep team and includes a coach mentor program for each divison. This has also helped the association align their skills progression, systems, bench support, dryland programming and practice and seasonal plans.

The other recipient of the OMHA Excellence in Development Award was Winston Watson of Huntsville Minor Hockey. Winston has been a part of the landscape of hockey in Huntsville for more than fifteen years. As Referee Director, Winston recruits, develops and mentors young referees. He has encouraged many young people to “put on the stripes”. He has spent many hours observing young officials, offering pointers and advice to help them understand the importance of their job. 

The OMHA also participates in awarding the Wally Scott Bursary through the Minor Hockey Foundation Ontario which is given in recognition of outstanding commitment to community service, athletics, and academics.  This year’s recipient is Nathan Schaper of the Milton Minor Hockey Association. Nathan has played minor hockey in Milton for thirteen season and has served as an assistant coach for six years while officiating for three of those years. Outside of hockey, Nathan is an excellent student and has been accepted to the University of Waterloo to study Systems Design Engineering.

Congratulations to all Award recipients.