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MOM's salute their volunteer of the year D2 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER 0 SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER M ark Bentley is one o f those volunteerswho goes the extra mile. He is unassum ­ing about the depth o f his involvem ent and harbours no com plaints or regrets about an ever increasing workload. W ithout him and others like him, the M inor Oaks H ockey Association (M OHA) house league would crumble. He is one o f the cogs in the ever- expanding wheel that is the M OHA house league. This past season, 2,320 kids participated as part o f 144 teams. O verw helm ing num bers in term s of budgeting, scheduling and drafting, not to mention placing convenors, coaches, referees and tim ekeep­ ers. As vice-president o f the house league, he is on call at all tim es o f the day and night between Septem ber and M arch, spending up to 40 hours per w eek ensuring that the schedule proceeds as sm oothly as possible. Once the schedule is in place and gam es under way, convenors take over, but Bentley can still spend entire days in arenas trou­ bleshooting and watching games. "I try to get out to all the divisions to see all the kids play," says Bentley. "The O akville House League is very strong. There are tournam ents that w on't accept the red level because they are so strong." Over the past season there have been few er dis­ cipline problem s than in the last several years, he says. W ith all that Bentley does and has done over the past eight years for the house league, he is the first to point out that he's ju st part o f a team o f volun- . teers. "There are people like Helen Ford who has been involved for 30 years and has one o f the toughest jobs -- town rep scheduling. She's in her third year doing this on her own. Jock D unbar has done the house league scheduling forever. Ken M organ who coaches and convenes and M ike Zardo who puts in so much tim e and has been president 10 of the last 13 years," says Bentley. A nother o f those people he couldn't do without is M arshall Snowball, whose kids are no longer in the system -- but he rem ains. "They love the gam e and they do it for the kids." No one, however, would begrudge Bentley an honor for the allotm ent o f tim e he has donated to the house league since 1991 whether it's jum ping out o f bed at 5:30 a.m. to ref a gam e, fill in for an absent coach on a Sunday night or keep the execu­ tive w ithin its $845,000 budget. "It was tim e to honor one o f those people who do," explains N ancy Brooks o f the H ockey M O M 's who selected Bentley as the first ever recipient o f their Volunteer o f the Year award. "Som etim es vol­ unteers go that one step further and really make a difference and I don't think we say thank you enough." People ju s t don't realize the responsibility some people take on, adds Brooks. "M ark is low key and doesn't expect a pat on the back. I f a re f doesn't show, the coach will call Photo by Peter C. McCusker Thumbs up for Mark Bentley who was recently named the volunteer of the year by the Oakville hockey M O M 's volunteer group. Bentley is vice president of house league, convenes the novice white division and has refereed and filled in for coaches. S k ' v* Jm V i w j f W k , \ m V K -- fV \ and he's there at 5:30 a.m. On a Sunday night with the midgets if there's a problem he's there." Bentley has coached, refereed and convened, says Brooks. "It takes up a lot o f personal time," said Brooks. "These are very special people. W ithout them, it would take many, many others to do the same job." Bentley never complains, she adds. "H e's just a wonderful, wonderful person. A lways a smile on his face. His reason for being here is the kids." So very true, says Bentley. "If I didn't want to do it, I w ouldn't, but I enjoy it." Bentley humbly accepted the award at a special presentation and as much as he appreciates the honor, he is slightly em barrassed by it. "I enjoy it (volunteering). I could ju st step away but I enjoy it." The first thing Bentley did after signing up his eldest son Jeff for hockey in 1991 was volunteer his wife Lynn as a Hockey M OM -- Lynn eventu­ ally held the post of president o f that organization for two years and was also honored by the group (See 'Volunteer' page D3) Do you know a girt between 4 and 18 years who could benefit from a one to one relationship with an adult olur O A K V I L L E L l I S I C p W B female volunteer? W f l r g n a l O u r m a tc h in g a n d g ro u p p ro g ra m m e s ^ ■ B j ■ ■ o f fe r f r ie n d s h ip , e m o tio n a l s u p p o r t a n d I V l ^ ■ ■ g u id a n c e a l lo w in g g ir ls to re a liz e th e ir w fu l l p o te n t ia l, b u ild o n th e ir u n iq u e s t r e n g th s a n d e n h a n c e th e ir s e lf e s te e m Please ca ll K aren o r F iona a t 338-0238 A S S O C I A T I O N to see It B ig S is te rs is r ig h t fo r y o u ! ALSO NEEDED: VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS Open House We invite you to visit the school, meet the teachers and talk to parents to learn more about this unique Preschool & Kindergarten and the Parent & Tot Programmes. Saturday, May 15st 10 am to 1 pm 41 Lakeshore Road West Oakville (between Chisholm & Wilson) & 0 5 ) 3 3 8 -5 5 3 3 Expanding to Grade 8 Fall 99 Visit us at iwww.waldorfschool.net < ___________ » • X, » L __ f T ilt A T ' , L A K E S H O R E . • W A L D O R F I? . ' K I N D E R Q A R T E N __________ J ATTENTION the Nautilus family of Premium Marine Lubricants are on • Biodegradable • Smokeless • Low odour • Outboard M otor Oil • Premium Inboard M otor Oil (SAE25W 40, 10W30, & 30) • M arine G ear Oil (SAE90-m ineral, SAE75W 90 SYN) ■ High Performance • Jet Pump Oil Synthetic Personal Water • Boat Cleaner Craft <2 cycle) • Bilge Cleaner • Does not include Bulk Sale E n d s M A Y 31, 1999 S O C A L L T O D A Y 905-878-5987 Shell Lubricants TWISS TRANSPORTATION LTD. 32 Steeles Ave. Unit 15, Milton Results for Antoinettes The following are the results for the Antoinettes com petitors in this past weekend's Youth Provincials at Glen Abbey Rec Centre. vlt brs bm f ir O/A Pre novice 1 9yrs Wednesday, May 12, 1999 DeannaDiClemente 12 3 * category had 31 competitors Pre novice 2 14 19 Brittany Gataveckas i 2 9 6 6 Jessica Park 7 8 7 6 8 Jessica Leggett 6 6 Kendra Forgione, alternate * category had 25 competitors Pre novice 3 8 10 10 Alyssa Brown 5 2 6 7 6 Katey Ishikawa 111) 3 * category had 11 competitors 9 4 9 Novice 1 10yrs Lindsay Smith |6 5 * category had 26 competitors Novice 2 11 4 8 Melissa Melia 8 5 * category had 25 competitors Novice 3 5 5 7 Carly McMillan 2 7 * category had 11 competitors 8 8 6 Pre-junior 2 11-12 yrs Rachel Pedros - 10 * category had 24 competitors 7 3 13 Jun io r 1 12-13 yrs Rebekah Lugsdin 7 3 3 - 8 Julie Gammon and Geraldine Albanez, alternates * category had 27 competitors Vlt/vault; brs/bars; bm/beam; flr/floor; O/A... over­ all. Levels rise from 1 to 2 to 3 according to higher skill levels. Antoinettes invited to host provincials again next year (Continued from page D1) allow ed for continuity in the nine flights. W hile honors were distributed by such celebrities as Canadian gym ­ nastics great E lfie Schlegel, the next batch o f athletes were w arm ing up. "The facility really lent itself to the whole process. There really w asn't a g litch ," com m ented John D iClem ente, Antoinettes board m em ­ ber and m arketing and prom otions coordinator for the provincials. Sponsors -- the three m ajor ones w ere O akville T oyota , O akville Hydro and the Town o f Oakville -- gave the event a trem endous boost and the town itself benefitted eco ­ nomically, added Hussey. G ym nastics is not a high profile sport but through advertising, prom o­ tion and sponsorships, the club is hop­ ing to change that, said DiClemente. The strength and cohesiveness of the volunteering, the jo y on the faces o f the young athletes in the m idst o f the intensity o f such a com petition, are all m em ories D iC lem ente will treasure. "I t's a com petitive sport but a good-natu red one w ith a lo t o f w arm th," he added. Gym nasts have few opportunities to strut their stuff because the sport is mostly skill developm ent. In all his years o f being involved in the provincials, this was the best one, said board member, A rthur Hartley, who next year hopes to have both TV O ntario and Cogeco on board. "We need them to make this sport grow," said Hartley. A ntoinettes' coaches Glen Cooper and Kathy H ubbard w atched with great pride as their young protegees enjoyed one o f their best meets o f the year. "Provincials are tough com peti­ tion," said Hubbard. W hat it cam e down to on the w eek­ end was a wobble or a solid landing or l/1 0 th o f a po in t or less, added Cooper. The expected jitters d idn't m ateri­ alize due in large part to a hom etown crow d cheering on the athletes and most, w hether they reached the podi­ um or not, gave great perform ances, said Hubbard. "They w ere extrem ely w ell pre­ pared. They were as prepared as they could be." One o f the highlights was w atch­ ing Carly M cM illan execute and gar­ ner a second place finish for her vault, a new routine learned over the past two weeks, one that involved going from a tuck tsukahara to a pike tsuka- hara. W hen the coaches asked each gym nast their goals for provincials there w ere som e w ho hoped for medals; most, however, w ished for a good showing, hoped they hit their rou tines and the ir land ings, said Hubbard. "We couldn't have asked for a bet­ ter m eet for the kids," she said. A lthough there are still special events on the A ntoinettes' calendar, including a gym nastics dance dem o, a low key inv ita tional m eet in Vancouver, and a large upcom ing invitational recreational event for 420 kids hosted by the A ntoinettes, it's now "down tim e." The m em ories the coaches will take away include pride in their kids and the positive com m ents received from their peers about their gym nasts and the polished organization o f the event. "I think the greatest com plim ent is that w e've been given the opportunity to host it again," said D iClem ente. http://www.waldorfschool.net