Minor hockey welcomes new board members, sets date for merger vote

Five people have stepped up to fill roles following mass resignations, but president and vice-president roles remain vacant ahead of Sunday’s merger vote

The Orillia Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) has taken steps to attempt to re-establish stability and finish the season on a successful note.

More than 100 OMHA members attended a special membership meeting held last week at Rotary Place. 

During the meeting, several new members were appointed to the board of directors. In a press release posted Wednesday, the OMHA officially introduced Brent Poulsen as the director of equipment, Jenna Beard as the director of house league U7-U11, Jenn Shelswell as the director of house league U12-U21, Ryan Smyth as the director of education, and Jody Duck as the director at large.

Notably, the roles of vice-president and president will remain vacant until the annual general meeting scheduled for April.

However, the local association assured its members that this will not impact the organization’s upcoming plans, which include popular year-end events such as house league championship day and the year-end banquet.

The special meeting was called and was necessary due to recent resignations from former board members following a controversial decision to unite some of the rep programs of both the OMHA and Oro Minor Hockey. That decision has since been overturned by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association.

Despite the recent organizational shakeup, the Orillia hockey agency says it is experiencing “continued growth and success” across all age divisions and is preparing for an exciting playoff season.

The OMHA’s new board has announced a new “re-organzation vote” for a potential merger of Orillia and Oro programs set to take place this Sunday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Rotary Place. 

Eligible voters include one parent/guardian of a registered player (one vote per household), coaches, convenors, members of the board of directors, appointed volunteers, players 18 years of age or older, and lifetime members

To vote, members must be in good standing; no proxy voting will be permitted. Members from the Ontario Minor Hockey Association will be present to act as voting scrutineers.

As a question and answer session has already been conducted prior to the first vote, the upcoming meeting will focus solely on the vote. Members are encouraged to review the proposed bylaws and the memorandum of understanding, which is available on the OMHA website.

The OMHA expressed gratitude to its membership, coaches, referees, volunteers, employees, and sponsors for their “unwavering support and patience” throughout what has been a turbulent time for the local organization.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}