Mustangs hold 2021 Annual General Meeting
The Melfort Mustangs held their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, Aug 25 with an excellent turnout.
Community members came to hear the latest on the club and learn about the coming season. While there is excitement for the 2021/2022 SJHL season, there was still some work to be done to tie the bow on the 2020/2021 season.
And if the 20/21 season could be described in one word, it would be “COVID”. The global pandemic first paused things for the club in March of 2020 and continued on into the following season. The Mustangs only played a grand total of five exhibition games, with only 150 fans in attendance at each one.
There was lots of work that went into trying to play in 20/21 including “bubble” proposals that were eventually turned down by the government.
Financially however, the Mustangs are sitting in a decent spot which is helped by a few solid years for the club. While revenues were down nearly 50 per-cent in 20/21, expenses were also down over 60 per-cent, leaving the club in a good spot heading into the future.
“The organization is sitting in a good spot after going through COVID-19, thanks to the support of the community and surrounding area,” said outgoing President Chad Elliott. “We’ve gone through a tough year, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are very excited to welcome the boys back to town in just over a week and to see hockey again in the Northern Lights Palace.”
Community support from businesses and fans were a major help for the club. A number of provincial grants for small businesses were also of great assistance as they worked their way through the 20/21 season. The main grant being a One-Million-dollar grant to the SJHL which was divided between the teams.
On the ice, Head Coach and General Manager Trevor Blevins is excited for the season with 15 players from the 20/21 club returning this season.
“I am excited to see what this team can do on the ice this season,” Blevins said. “We have an excellent group of veteran players coming back from last season, as well as many talented recruits that will help us now and in the future.”
The Mustangs will open training camp on Sep. 3 at the Northern Lights Palace. The skates are open for viewing from the public.
After the AGM, elections were completed for the Board of Directors. Chad Elliott is stepping down from his role as President and former Vice President Jordan Lee will step into the Presidents role.
Melfort Mustangs Board of Directors 2021/2022:
President: Jordan Lee
“I hope to lead a good transition post-Covid back to what is hopefully a more normal year at the rink. I think everyone is looking forward to putting the last year and a half behind us and we are hoping bringing people back to the rink to cheer on the Mustangs is part of that return to normal. The board and I look forward to the year ahead and hope to see many of you at the rink.”
Lee can be contacted via email at gbp2526@gmail.com
Vice-President: Greg Claypool
Governor: Lionel Shmyr
Treasurer: Connie Van Camp
Corporate Secretary: Connie Carter
Director: Chad Elliott
Director: Jody Goodfellow
Director: Jeff Pederson
Director: Andrew DeHaan
Director: Jamie Placsko
Director: Darin Placsko