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www.insidehalton.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, September 15, 2017 | 16 n i s s e n i Bus Oakville For more than 50 years the Oakville Rangers Hockey Club (formerly known as the Minor Oaks Hockey Association ­ MOHA) has been a place where kids have come to learn the fundamentals of the game, celebrate victories, learn from defeats, and create memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. Over the last year, the Club has gone through some significant changes. Some of these changes have been behind-the-scenes such as right-sizing the board; bench-marking best-in-class bylaws and rewriting current ones; establishing an external dispute resolution process and committee; improving on the expertise of the executive ­ not flashy changes but certainly important. Other changes have been more evident such as a new online parent survey; a new coach selection process; an improved Rep tryout process; the addition of Rep and Select teams; an outreach effort to bring players back to Oakville; and a renewed focus on skills development. While there have been many changes; none have been more obvious, and to some, more controversial then the decision to change the name of the club. "This name allows everyone to be a Ranger," said John Verdon, president of the Oakville Rangers Hockey Club. "We had almost 4,000 players in the hockey club, but only 700 or 800 could call themselves a Ranger because they play Rep. Now, no matter what, if you play for our club, you're a Ranger." Oakville: now known as the town of the Rangers In addition to unifying the membership, the changing of the name was also motivated by the marketing and branding perspective. While the former name, "Minor Oaks Hockey Association" held some level of historical significance, the name itself was vague and confusing. Not having the word `Oakville' or `Rangers' in the name made it difficult for people to make a connection. It also made it difficult to search on the internet and is not easy to market aggressively which is something the Club has begun to do recently via social media, print and internet advertising. The Club is also researching and consider- ing some exciting new changes including a AAA Centre of Excellence designed to create an elite AAA program, the addition of more Rep and Select teams for the 2018-19 season, a renewed focus on house league and goalie development, and the introduction of spring/summer programming. "Whatever we do, it's designed to keep players in Oakville and have some ex-players come back to Oakville, that's everything we're doing from the bottom, up." said Verdon. To celebrate the changes to the club and to officially launch the 2017-18 season as the Oakville Rangers Hockey Club, the Rangers will be hosting Rangers' Day in Oakville on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The day is designed to launch the new brand, recognize the fact that all players are now Rangers and to celebrate everything that is great about hockey. The festivities will run from approximately 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. and will include the following ­ Hockey Hall of Fame exhibits, interactive games and NHL trophies; more than 25 regular season games from house league to AAA - from Novice to Midget to a Junior A Oakville Blades game; exhibits and games from Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment; special guests including Ron MacLean, Paul Henderson, Adam Graves, Vic Hadfield and Mayor Rob Burton plus food, drink and tons of fun. For more information and to get involved with the club please visit www.oakvillerangers.ca. Canadian Dance Company gets a fresh new start After two years of building from the ground up, the Canadian Dance Company's grand opening was held on Saturday, with past and present clients joining the celebration. The new facility is quite a step up, 16,000 square feet of space with six dance spaces between two floors, a large lobby, and study area for dance students to eat lunches, do homework and gather together, a boardroom for faculty meetings and planning, and four change rooms. "People were amazed by how modern looking and spacious the facility is," said Karly Monaghan, assistant to director Allain Lupien at the Canadian Dance Company. "A big draw for people is the vast amount of programs we have running is due to having ample space to accommodate everyone." More people showed up to the grand opening than expected, with many new clients who were interested in see- Photos by Riziero Vertolli | Metroland Media ing the facilities and getting registered. "We have the ability to involve far more students now than ever before," said Monaghan. "Our goal is to offer the same quality standard to double the amount of students. Both Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie joined Canadian Dance Company owners Dawn and Allain Lupien at the celebration to give speeches and assist in the ribbon cutting ceremony.