The Huron-Perth Lakers announced Julie McConnell as the 2009 recipient of the John O’Keefe Memorial Award at the Lakers Annual Banquet held April 8th in Brussels.
This award is presented annually to an individual in the Huron-Perth organization who has made an outstanding volunteer contribution with Lakers teams and/or the Association. With the permission of the O’Keefe family, it was created to memorialize the late John O’Keefe by celebrating the type of contributions he made as a parent, trainer and manager. John approached his volunteer work with an open heart and an open mind - simply looking for ways to help. He was a strong believer in what the whole Lakers hockey experience provided for young players in terms of the pursuit of excellence in a competitive environment.
The 2009 winner is Julie McConnell of Mildmay. Julie's approach to volunteering mirrored that of John O'Keefe: volunteering for things not too many other people wanted to do, always putting a lot of effort into the task and doing it well, never drawing attention to themselves, and above all... always leaving people feeling better about themselves. Julie has been on the Lakers Executive for 4 years and has been one of the most reliable, involved volunteers. She has headed up the Lakers Brand Committee (one of the busiest committees) with absolute competence. As well as taking care of all the Lakers Gear, Julie was the main organizer of the Lakers Orientation Days, Lakers Days and year-end banquets and completed this all with great efficiency.
The John O’Keefe Memorial Award is the first, and at this time, only annual award given out by the Association. As such, it symbolizes the importance of the volunteer contributions of many individuals every year.
Lakers President Hugo Maaskant with award recipient Julie McConnell as she accepts the award from Mackinley O'Keefe