The Huron-Perth Lakers announced Hugo Maaskant as the 2011 recipient of the John O’Keefe Memorial Award at the Lakers Annual Banquet held in April in Mitchell.
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 2011 winner is Hugo Maaskant. He has been involved with the Lakers for many years and has done any task asked of him, as if it was the most important job to be completed. He has served as a trainer or assistant trainer for five years, had two terms as President, two years as Chair of the Lakers Hockey Operations Committee and also served a year as past president. Hugo has always been there to help in any possible way... volunteering his time in whatever capacity was needed and, as such, is a most worthy recipient of this year's John O’Keefe Memorial Award.
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.
Mackinley O'Keefe (left) and Lakers President Kevin Nicholson (centre) congratulate 2011 Award recipient Hugo Maaskant