Massachusetts Hockey’s Annual Meeting took place this past weekend, June 17th and 18th. This meeting was a chance to celebrate and honor our volunteers as well as review and alter Massachusetts Hockey’s regulations and policies. As we are coming out of the pandemic this was a great space to discuss the challenges we have faced throughout the pandemic as well as the opportunities that lie ahead.
The meeting kicked off with opening remarks from Massachusetts Hockey President, Bob Joyce (Newton, Mass.), in which Bob announced this year’s service awards. This year’s awards also included the newly renamed Steve and Terry Palmacci President’s Award to honor the efforts of Steve and Terry Palmacci which was presented to Christopher Gong (Hingham, Mass.) who serves as 5th Vice President to Massachusetts Hockey, a Director in the Girls/Women’s District, Co-Chair of the Rules Committee, Co-Chair of our DE&I Committee and Co-Chair of the Audit Committee. Massachusetts Hockey also honored John Murray (Tewksbury, Mass.) as he received the Richard “Duke” Kumpel Special Achievement Award for his work as Referee Coordinator and as Massachusetts’ USA Hockey High School Section Representative. For more information on this year’s service award winners, view the materials below.
USA Hockey Assistant Executive Director of Hockey Development, Bob Mancini, USA Hockey ADM Manager Roger Grillo, and Massachusetts Hockey Coach-In-Chief, Paul Moore (Falmouth, Mass.) made presentations on the American Development Model, officiating, and coaching. Also discussed were the efforts of the new USA Hockey Officiating Task Force which is aiming to formulate a plan to attract, educate and retain officials both within the state of Massachusetts as well as across the country. This discussion offered what the task force has achieved, what they are setting out to do, and how to help.
Chris Holden (Norfolk, Mass.), Treasurer of Massachusetts Hockey, provided a financial update and budget review. Following that, Peter Giuliano (Malden, Mass.), State Tournament Chair for Massachusetts Hockey presented a tournament review as well as a preview for the upcoming year. Additionally, Mark Boldrighini (Littleton, Mass.), District 8 Registrar, conducted a CPR Training Course to provide safety resources for our volunteers.
The Annual Meeting wrapped up by hosting a Board of Directors meeting in which this year’s elections and legislative proposals were voted on. This meeting also included both a President’s Report by Bob Joyce as well as the Executive Director’s Report from Kevin Kavanagh (Duxbury, Mass.). In the President’s report, Joyce noted the challenges Massachusetts Hockey has faced, including the lack of officials and the abuse that they face and efforts to improve upon this problem. In his Executive Director’s report, Kavanagh discussed the opportunity to refocus priorities from a staffing perspective, including upcoming improvements to the communications platform, continued management of signature events and additional support to the program leaders throughout the state. Jeff Brown (Agawam, Mass.) presented all legislative proposals which were, in turn, voted on and followed by elections. For more information on this year’s election results, view the materials below.
Massachusetts Hockey’s annual meeting concluded on Saturday afternoon.
Complete List of Service Award Recipients:
5 Years of Service: David Hymovitz
10 Years of Service: Tom Sweeney
10 Years of Service: Pat McCarthy
10 Years of Service Gary Gates
15 Years of Service: Billy Marcotte
15 Years of Service: David Costa
30 Years of Service: Felix Costanza
Complete List of Annual Award Recipients:
Dr. Alan Ashare Safety Award: Ryan Coleman
Ron & Jo DiFilippo Registrar Award: Janet Harrington
Milt Kauffman Officiating Award: Mark Rhodes
Richard “Duke” Kumpel Special Achievement Award: John Murray
Steve & Terry Palmacci President’s Award: Christopher Gong
Complete List of Elected Positions:
1st Vice President: Jeff Brown
2nd Vice President: Christine Mayer
4th Vice President: Tom McGrath
Secretary: Tim McMahon
Director at Large Executive Board: Gary Gates & Mark Kumpel
USA High School Section Representative: John Murray
USA Girls/Women’s Section Representative: Mark Lissner
USA Disabled Section Representative: Ray Leblanc
USA Hockey Director: Bob Joyce
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