Hello!
Lots going on with our Golden Bear Hockey Alumni to tell you about – but first a short word about some “Bear Necessities”.
There are two types of Bear Necessities.
The first one is this Disney version that we’ve all seen and never gets old. It’s probably made Disney hundreds of millions of dollars over the years.
The second Bear Necessities has generated $0 so far, but that can change if you click on this link: https://gbhky.com/product/the-bear-necessities-fund.
This is the GBHA Fund that helps keep our E-News and other activities (Edmonton & Calgary luncheons, etc.) and efforts going. We need only a small bit of support to pay for our back-office help, banner production, website hosting, e-mail list management, Mailchimp monthly costs and a few other things that will help us keep us in touch with you. A few hundred dollars a month will cover it easily.
So, we’re asking you to donate $20 or more if you can. We don’t need much, but we still have bills to pay, and we don’t want that coming out of funds that go towards the Bears program.
If you can make a donation, we’re deeply grateful. We’ll post the names of those who donate and are supporting the Bear Necessities Fund. Even more importantly, we’ll do everything we can to support, help, highlight and otherwise acknowledge anyone who donates. Thanks in advance for being part of this select group.
An anonymous (for good reason) songwriter has sent us updated lyrics for the Disney hit, tailored for our Bear Necessities Fund:
“Look for the Bear Necessities,
The link to Bear Necessities
That helps keep the GBHA so very strong
Twenty bucks to the Bear Necessities,
There’s simply no better recipe
To keep these friendships going all life long.”
Play Ball!
This Saturday morning we’ll be hosting our first monthly GBHA get-together in Edmonton. If you’re in town, you don’t want to miss it.
GBHA Alumni Randy Gregg is inviting us down to Re-Max field at 10:00 am – main door entrance – where he’ll welcome us into a newly renovated restaurant area of the gorgeous home field of the Edmonton Riverhawks. Here’s as pic below from last summer that shows what is widely considered to be the best baseball park in all of Canada outside of Rogers Centre in Toronto.
RE/MAX Field
The Home Diamond for The Edmonton Riverhawks
This will be our first gathering to get everyone together and set us up for success in the months to come. Here’s what we’ll do in the hour together between 10:00 am and 11:00 am
- General welcome and intro remarks with brief intros from everyone who joins us.
- Informal discussion and feedback on what everyone would like to see in these events – guest speakers, activities, frequency, etc.
- Tour of the Re-Max facility by Randy.
- Maybe some batting cage fun if time permits.
I know that Coach Billy Moores is definitely looking forward to coming down – he might even be sneaking in sessions at a batting cage somewhere to prep for Saturday morning. In any case, we’re looking forward to a lot of fun and having anyone and everyone who wants to join come down for a coffee. There is lots of room, and again, thanks to Randy and the Riverhawks for hosting.
Calgary Gathering: Justin Wallin and Dale Henwood are launching the Calgary GBHA first informal gathering on Saturday, April 5th at WinSport at 10:00 am, meeting at the Garden Café which overlooks Arena B. Let us know if you’re attending or reach out directly to Dale at henwood@shaw.ca .
Lost and Found Department: We’ve discovered over the weeks that our email distribution list of 600+ GBHA members is a powerful tool for tracking down people.
In our last E-news edition of March 20th we asked if anyone had a picture of Ron Urness, otherwise known as “Ron Rink” to those of us who had the pleasure of knowing Ron when he was the rink attendant at the U of A for so many years in the1970’s and 1980’s, we believe it was. (Does anyone know the exact dates that Ron Rink worked at the U of A?
And, voila! Here is a picture of Ron sent to us by David Murray, as well as a shot of the U of A rink David sent along, dating from likely the late 60’s or early ‘70’s.
Ron Urness
Former Rink Attendant at Clare Drake Arena
Clare Drake Arena
Now we need some help on two more names. Kevin Primeau and Jeff Helland are working on a project that will see four former national championship Bears’ hockey teams work to raise money for the team’s scholarship fund for next year.
Two former players that they are trying to connect with from the 85-86 team are Craig Dill (“Diller”) and Jack Patrick (“Buzz”). Do you know them or how to reach them? Or do you know anyone who can help? Let us know if you do and we’ll pass that along to Kevin and Jeff.
Summer Intern candidate
Dale Henwood just sent us up a note from Calgary recently, letting us know that first-year Bears’ goalie Ethan Lawczynski is looking for some help possibly finding a summer job in Calgary from May to August.
Here’s a quick screen shot of Ethan’s hockey profile. He’s completing his first-year engineering degree and would love to find something that would allow him to work alongside engineers. He hasn’t yet been assigned to a specific degree or co-op program yet, but he’s already interested in biomedical, mechanical or chemical engineering.
Let’s see if we can help this clearly talented and motivated young Bear. All you engineers out there on our mail list, can you give this a look? And everyone else, surely you know of someone in an engineering firm who Ethan can possibly chat with, at a minimum.
Let us know – send a reply message here or reach out directly to Dale at henwood@shaw.ca. Thanks in advance for your help.
Here is a timely call-to-action note to all GBHA Alumni from Dale Henwood:
You are a difference-maker!
HELP WANTED – Share Your Golden Bears Stories!
Our new GBHA-newsletter has been a big hit, bringing together past and present members of the Golden Bears Hockey family. The response so far has been fantastic, especially from our “old-timers” who have shared some truly memorable stories. But we know there are many more voices out there, and we want to hear from every era of Bears hockey!
Do you have a favorite memory, a legendary road trip story, or a moment that still brings a smile (or a wince) to your face? We would love to feature it in an upcoming edition!
What We’re Looking For:
- A quick story (200-300words) from your time with the Bears – a team highlight, a defining moment, or even a favorite photo.
- A road trip adventure – the kind of story that stays with a team forever.
- A lesson learned from an influential teammate or coach.
- A memorable game or season that still stands out in your mind.
- A “Where are they now?” update – tell us about life after your Bears days.
How are you sharing your learnings as a Bear with others?
Your stories help connect generations of Bears players, coaches, and supporters, keeping our history and traditions alive.
No need to overthink it—just reply to this email and send us your story!
Help Us Build Our Bears’ Future
If you know of a business that might be interested in joining our Partners Circle, we would love to hear about them too. Your connections could help us continue to strengthen the program for future Bears.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Dale Henwood
You are a difference-maker!
Thank you again for your continued interest and support.
Rick Peterson
Vice President
Golden Bears Hockey Alumni
