From Melissa & Stu McKenzie - March 29 2007
Hello everyone . . . .
Ya so Melissa had our kid. A boy, Hayden (still working on a middle name) McKENZIE, born at 0222 hrs on Monday March 26th. Weighing at 3.427 Kg (just under 8lbs). Hayden was only 13 days late, but well worth the wait.
Melissa is a little worse for wear, but none-the-less ecstatic! So far everything seems to be fine.
I have attached a few shots of our expanding family, no real actions shots, as the kid doesn't seem to do too much except eat, sleep and poop. They tell me he'll be like that for a while. Its good fun anyway!
We are all back home now. Melissa and Hayden are doing great and I'm sure we'll be introducing him to family and friends over the next little while.
I'm sure we'll see most of you soon, but not sure when we'll be back in the hammer.
Take care and talk to you soon.
Melissa, Stu & Hayden
Thomas Leslie Hutchinson age 39 sadly and suddenly left us on Monday, March 19, 2007. The spirits and struggles he’s gone through gave him the strength to carry on.
Tom has left behind his cherished wife, Margaret and two children Sarah and Jack.
Beloved son of Bob and Judy Hutchinson of Point Edward and son-in-law of Norma Hughes of Belfast.
Loved grandson of Jean Hutchinson of Parkhill.
Loving brother of Lori Mitchell of Corunna and Marcy Mancini (Len) of Caledonia and brother-in-law of Alan Hughes and Paul Hughes both of Oakville.
Dear uncle of Andrew and Courtney Mitchell, Daniel Hughes and Jayme Mancini.
Will be missed by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and many close friends.
As well as his family Tom had many passions in his life, which included refereeing, lacrosse, hockey and basketball. His love for life was only exceeded by his ability to care for others. He had many family members and friends who stood by his side until his last moment.
The funeral service for Tom will be held on Saturday March 24, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. at SMITH FUNERAL HOME 1576 London Line, Sarnia.
Family and friends will be received at the funeral home on Friday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Sympathy may be expressed through donations to the charity of your choice. Memories and condolences may be online at www.smithfuneralhome.ca
Visitation
Friday March 23, 2007
2 to 4 pm
7 to 9 pm
Service
Saturday March 24, 2007
Donations
Sympathy may be expressed through donations to the charity of your choice.
My thanks to Terry King for providing his info with permission to post it.
Hi Ron:
Ron you have asked me to put together some information that you can use to do a Bio for Tom. I am not sure that I have all of the facts exactly correct, but here is some of the info I know about his past.
Tom was born November 14, 1967.
Played his lacrosse in the Sarnia area to the junior and senior level.
I think he even played at least one year for the Detroit Turbo of the old professional league.
Married to Margaret Hughes.
Daughter Sarah age 6
Son Jack age 4
I saw Hutch as a very dedicated family man who seemed to know how to balance his extra-curricular activities with family. They meant a great deal to him and he was careful to try and not overextend himself to the detriment of family time. (Many of the other officials that started when Hutch & I did gradually moved on to board officiating and did not have time to assist as they had in the past.) That in itself is why I felt so privileged that Hutch found time to assist me (almost without failure) whenever I requested it.
Hutch started reffing in the early 90’s shortly after giving up playing.
I first met Hutch at the midget provincials in Windsor where a great friendship developed between a bunch of us officials who were starting to officiate around the same time.
Over the years Tom assisted in many minor tournaments and provincials….generally speaking wherever we were going as a group Tom would be one of the guys there.
Tom was RIC in Sarnia for a few years which assisted in developing and improving the organization’s officials.
Hutch always booked off the weekend when the Owen Sound Harry Kazarian tournament was on to come and assist us in the Sound. It did not matter what level of lacrosse he was asked to officiate he gladly assisted in any way he could.
As a bonus he generally officiated the junior or senior game that is the Saturday &/or Sunday game of the tournament weekend. As the officials who attend the Harry Kazarian tournament are aware they all stay at either my house or at that of Mark & Lynne Kazarian and we gather both Friday and Saturday evenings for food, beverage and fellowship along with the tournament organizing committee. Since Tom was a fixture at the tournament he has a great many friends in Owen Sound.
I have held what is called the Men in Black weekend every September at Sauble Beach to celebrate the camaraderie of reffing. Tom had attended 9 of the 10 held to date. The 11th will not be the same without Hutch there.
Tom was chosen in 2003 to be the representative for Ontario at the Founders Cup. Unfortunately he also found out that year that he had cancer. The treatments left him too weak to officiate at the level required and he had to decline.
In 2005 he was again selected to go to Saskatoon to ref in the Founders. He doubled as assistant RIC along with Brent McCauley. Unfortunately this prevented him from being eligible to referee in the Gold medal game that he probably deserved.
In 2006 Tom was selected as co RIC of the Founders with me and ironically (as it has turned out) this competition was also in Windsor.
The politics and geography of lacrosse in Ontario prevented Tom from receiving the assignments that (in my humble opinion) he deserved. The teams complain when the referees are sent from too far a distance (the cost of mileage creates a problem) and unfortunately Sarnia is at the western edge of the province.
Tom’s vocation was in social work and he was a counselor for the Children’s Aid Society. Tom never discussed his work but I discovered (by reading through the lines) that his work was extremely draining. He had to go into situations that we would be appalled to know existed. He dealt with confrontation at work on almost a daily basis. I guess that is why no matter what the situation on the floor Tom kept his cool.
Tom’s goal in moving back to Sarnia in the late 90’s was to become a customs agent. He was close to achieving this in the early days of his returning to Sarnia, but a hiring freeze of some sort prevented him from getting his desired job at that time.
About a month ago I received an email from Hutch commenting that he had received word that he would get a job as a customs agent. He was quite happy. Two weeks ago at our referee’s clinic, Tom & I shared a room and he was looking forward to when he would be sent to Montreal for 9 weeks training.
Tom was well enough thought of by his fellow officials (and I will not say which ones) but one Sunday of our clinic many years ago Tom did not show up for the exam. Someone (thinking that Tom had slept in) scooped an extra copy of an exam and did it for him. As it turned out Tom had been called away to a family emergency. The powers that be (instructors and testers) were very irate that someone had done an exam for Tom, but I feel that it showed the respect and loyalty that the guys had for Tom.
Ron I wish I had more time available to add to this, but hopefully it will give your readers a little more understanding of who Hutch was.
I hope that you can prepare some sort of Bio for the readers from this information.
Yours in lacrosse,
Terry
East Sr B Poll Ajax-Pickering Rock 61.74% Brooklin Merchants 24.83% Norwood Nitro 13.42% West Sr B Poll Mohawk Stars 17.33% Owen Sound Woodsmen 39.33% Wellington Aces 43.33% Sr B Overall Ranking Ajax-Pickering Rock 27.67% Wellington Aces 25.16% Owen Sound Woodsmen 19.50% Brooklin Merchants 10.69% Norwood Nitro 10.06% Mohawk Stars 6.92%
The Suffield High School Lacrosse Team is planning a bus trip to western New York to play teams from the three Seneca Nation Territories, Cattaraugus, Allegany and Tonawanda. The trip is scheduled from March 22nd through March 25th, 2007. The tournament will be held at the Gilbert Lay Arena, Cattaraugus Seneca Nation Territory, Irving, NY. Three games are scheduled: one on Friday evening (3/23/07) at 7:00 PM; and two on Saturday (3/24/07), one at 1:00 PM and the second at 6:00 PM.
Deh Wa E:O (lacrosse in Seneca) is the oldest sport in North America developed by the Haudenosaunee, known as Iroquois, as both a means of training for war and as a ³medicine game² for decisions regarding the confederacy of five (Iroquois) nations. The medicine game evolved as a method of relieving the stress of a stalemate regarding a requirement for a unanimous decision of their pure democracy (similar to that of the ancient Greeks) of the Haudenosaunee form of government. This highly advanced form of government was the basis of the constitution of the United States. The ³Great Peace² of the Haudenosaunee extended from the Hudson Bay (Canada) to the Carolinas, and from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. Ben Franklin referred to the Iroquois as ³the Romans of the New World² because of their highly developed government and great strength.
The cultural experience will be excellent for the Suffield players including Iroquois dancers and singers performing at the Saturday evening game. A tour of the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum in Salamanca, NY is also planned during the trip. The Seneca Nation Recreation Department under the direction of Ms. Eagle Parker-John is providing referees, staff at the arena, media coverage and a meal for the Suffield team. Rodney Haring, a veteran player for the Pinewoods Smoke Lacrosse Team (Can-Am Box Team), has also provided valuable assistance in developing this event. The Suffield team will be staying at the new Seneca Niagara Falls (NY) Casino Hotel.
Donations for this cultural/educational/sports experience would be greatly appreciated. Please send your donations in care of the Suffield High School Lacrosse Team, Suffield High School, 1060 Sheldon Street, West Suffield, CT 06093.
Nya Weh (Thank you),
Matt Conway, Head Coach
Mark Cervione, Coach
Luis R. Lee , Coach - Guin Yah Geyh, Seneca Beaver Clan name meaning
³Something from the Clouds²;
born and raised on the Allegany and Cattaraugus Reservations; full blooded
enrolled member of the Seneca Nation; former co-captain of one of the
Iroquois teams participating.
Sunday February 25 2007
TONAWANDA
On Saturday, February 24, 2007, a social was held at the Tonawanda Community Hall to raise funds to help Gary Sundown and his family build a home and replace all their poseessions lost in a fire that totally destroyed their home and it's contents.
As part of the fund raising, a 'Chinese Auction' was held. The Tonawanda Braves donated a jersey, which Snooky won, and was persuaded to wear.
The Can-Am Lacrosse Association made a sizeable donation, as did several of the teams and executive.
Gary Sundown was among the prime movers who established the Tonawanda Braves Sr. B Lacrosse Club in 1999. He continued to help operate and play for the team until the end of 2004.
Two years ago, he decided to concentrate on Tonawanda Braves Minor Lacrosse system which was established in 2004.
Gary also donates his time to minor basketball and other sports in the community.
The fund raising social was awesome.
Our MC was Sheldon Sundown.
It started about noon. I arived at 1:00pm and stayed until 7:30pm.
Tonawanda is a community of about 700 people. I'm sure most were there at least twice, dropping a donation in the box each time. There was also a good representation of people from other communites, including most of the Can-Am Sr. B Executives.
The Ladies of the community had a nice lunch ready for us which stayed in place until late afternoon when the supper supplies arrived. The donations box was located at the beginning of the table. Ironically, the box was the shape of a house and the slot to drop your donations in was the chimney.
Shortly after 4:00pm we were treated to listen to severla groups of traditional Social Native singers from Six Nations, Oneida(Thamesford, ON.), Newtown, Tonawanda, and others.
Traditional Native singing is much different than what we hear on the radio. It's all instrumentals, with the voices being the instruments. All very lively, melodius and happy sounding.
Then there was dancing, but not the ballroom variety. It's more like a conga paced by traditional Native singing. Toddlers to seniors participated. Some of the Social dancing included a fund raising event. We could pay for numbered paper plates which were placed on the floor inside the dancing circle, when the singing/dancing stopped, the youngsters dove into get a plate which could win a prize if the numbers drawn matched your plate.
One liitle tyke saw me taking pictures and indicated that he thought I should take one of his little blue friend. I don't know his name, but here's the photo that ensued.
When all was said and done, it was a great event to help and honor a fine family.
February 6, 2007
By Brian McNair 
WHITBY -- Respect and referee are words not often associated with each other.
Gerry Ravary, however, was one who brought them together with great ease.
Ravary, who died at 74 of a heart attack Friday, will be remembered fondly as one who officiated hockey and lacrosse games with integrity and who passed his vast knowledge onto so many others, most notably his son, Paul.
"I lost my best mentor in the sports world and fatherhood," says Paul, 49, who followed in his father's footsteps and officiated both sports. "He always went the extra yard to pursue your interests."
Ravary was doing something he loved, curling on Friday morning, when he suffered a massive heart attack.
But it was lacrosse that was his first passion in the sports world, which explains why he was still serving as an Ontario Lacrosse Association supervisor right to the end.
Prior to that, his resumé was so extensive it earned him induction into the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
He officiated lacrosse from 1954 to 1976 at all levels imaginable, presiding over Mann, Minto, Founders and President Cup championships in addition to the first championship game of a new professional league in the early 1970s.
Ravary also served as commissioner of the OLA in 1984-85, held most executive positions with the Brooklin Redmen, and was president of the Brooklin Merchants Sr. B team.
"When he took on a task, he completely threw himself 100 per cent into it and he breathed it, lived it, talked it," says wife Lorna. "He just gave his whole life to sports."
Born in Cornwall, Ravary moved to Whitby in 1950 and immediately embraced the community. He also figured prominently in hockey, serving as referee-in-chief for seven years with the Whitby Minor Hockey Association, and was an active member of the Knights of Columbus and Father Leo J. Austin Assembly 2287.
One of 12 children himself, Ravary leaves behind a large crew of loved ones, including seven children, two step children, 23 grand children and four great grand children.
"When it came to birthdays and everything in the family, he was like the postman," says Paul, a father of three. "You knew that something was coming from dad all the time. The grand kids really cherished him a lot.
"It's quite a loss for us all."
Gerry was a Member of the Whitby Sports Hall of Fame, he was an active Member of the Ontario Lacrosse Association especially with the Brooklin Redmen and the Brooklin Merchants. He was an active Member of the Knights of Columbus 3rd and Fourth Degrees, Faithful Admiral of Father Leo J. Austin Assembly 2287.
Passed away suddenly on Friday February 2, 2007 in his 75th year. Gerry, beloved husband of Lorna. Dear father of Sandra, Gary and Leanne, Paul and Julie, Gail and Gary Edwards, Scott and Darlene, Terry and Valerie, Tracey Scott, and step-father of Jeff and Belinda Solly, and Janis and Kevin Antram. Loving grandfather of 23 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Fondly remembered by his sister Jacqueline Sullivan, and by his mother-in-law Elma McColm. He will be sadly missed by his dog, his great little friend “Chewy”.
The family will receive friends at the W.C. Town Funeral Chapel, 110 Dundas Street East , Whitby (905-668-3410) from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9pm Sunday, 2 to 4 and 7 to 9pm Monday. Prayers on Monday evening at 8pm.
Mass of the Christian Burial will take place at Holy Family Parish, 91 Ribblesdale Drive , Whitby on Tuesday February 6, 2007 at 11am . Cremation to follow. Burial will be held at Groveside Cemetery , Brooklin at a later date.
In memoriam, donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation or to the charity of your choice.
by Ron Messer
Gerry Ravary was one of my best lacrosse friends. He was one of those rare characters that makes my association with this game one of the true pleasures of my life.
I got to know Gerry quite well last summer. In my capacity as the announcer for the Green Gaels and the Warriors Gerry would often sit with me as he rated the officials in his capacity as chief official.
He would often regale me with stories of his long association with sports, the places it took him and some of the situations he had to face .Ya know what? he was a really nice guy that I looked forward to seeing at the arena,I will remember him for a very long time.
by wamper23 (Larry Power)
It saddened me to hear of the sudden passing of Gerry.
I first met Getty several years ago when he was predident of the Brooklin Merchants.
At the time of our first meeting I was down on my luck with the heart attack, stroke and bypass. My finances were in bad shape and Gerry donated a refrigerator for me and the Gaylord Powless Lounge.
Gerry always had great stories to tell and was passionate about the game and most knowledgable. A sad thing for me is I kept wanting to interview him, specifically about the history of lacrosse in Brooklin and had intened to do it as soon as I got back from Texas. By procrastinating I'll miss a lot of good information and stories to record for lacrosse history. Gerry will be sadly missed by all those who knew him.
By Tristan Wazonek 
It's official! The Norwood lacrosse team will be known as the Norwood Nitro.
At a press conference early this morning, the executive announced that JJ Stewart Motors will be the major sponsor for the Nitro. "This will bring us instant credability and stability throughout Norwood and the surrounding communities. We are pleased to have a major sponsor who has been involved with this community for many years", said Ted Wazonek.
In other team news, John Martin will be joining the coaching staff along with Jim Johnston and Dalt Downer.
Tristan Wazonek, Ted's son says, "The knowledge and experience that John Martin brings to this club will greatly benefit the team. He has been involved with lacrosse from the minor system all the way to the Jr. A's and has coached many of these players before". The home opener for the JJ Stewart Norwood Nitro will take place on May 11th at 8:30pm against the Ajax-Pickering Rock at the Norwood-Norwood Community Centre.
Tristan Wazonek
TNT Lacrosse
The Peterborough Examiner has denied permission to post this article on our website. The following email was received from Bob Feaver, Examiner sports editor.
Ron:
Our managing editor Ed Arnold has denied your request for permission to reprint our articles as it would conflict with our copyrighted publications and our own web site.
Hopefully you haven't gone ahead without hearing back from me.
Bob Feaver
Examiner sports editor
And this second email received February 5, 2007
Ron: Please remove our copyrighted logo from your web sites and cease and desist any further use on any of your web sites. Failure to do so immediately may result in action by our legal department.
Bob Feaver
Examiner sports editor
Of course, I'll take the high road. The Peterborough Examiner, including all the other Osprey newspapers, has my permission to use all stats, schedules, results, summaries and news not credited to other media sources.
The Peterborough Examiner is the only media to deny permission from over 50 contacted.
Author: Lauren Gilchrist - myKawartha.com
The Lakefield Shamrocks have a new home but not a new name. On Tuesday afternoon Derek Buttery, vice-president of the Shamrocks, said the new team name and major local sponsor will be announced Jan. 28.
“We had some meetings with the major sponsor today. They are going well but the deal will be done Jan. 28,” he explains.
Buttery also announced on Tuesday that the Shamrocks are moving the Norwood-Asphodel Community Centre.
The Shamrock's first game in Norwood is scheduled for May 11.
The team came under new ownership and management in December when Ted Wazonek acquired the Shamrocks from Ray Dance.
Dance founded the Senior B Lacrosse team in Ennismore before moving it to Lakefield three years ago.
Wazonek owns a lacrosse shop in Peterborough and has been involved in the sport for many years.
by Fred Wallace - Bayshore Broadcasting
Sharon Mckechnie of Owen Sound is the new Commissioner of the Ontario Lacrosse Association Senior B League.
McKechnie was appointed by the League council and will replace Mac Mason of Fergus who indicated previously he was looking to step down as Commissioner.
As a result of accepting the Commissioner's position, McKechnie had to tender her resignation as President of the Owen Sound van Dolder Home Team Woodsmen.
Instead of looking after 1 team, McKechnie is now representing a half dozen teams in the league and to be President of one of the competing teams represented a conflict of interest.
However, McKechnie will retain her position as Chairman of the 2007 President's Cup to be hosted by the Woodsmen in Owen Sound August 20th to the 25th.
The Senior Council did not view being League Commissioner and Tournament Chair as a conflict.
Furthermore, McKechnie has invited any party interested in hosting the Canadian Senior Lacrosse Championship in the future to shadow her during the tournament and she says her files will be available to all.
Ideally, McKechnie says she would have liked to apprentice under Mason, but since that's not possible, she admits she's both nervous and excited about the position she's accepted.
Randy Jackson was named as the new Woodsmen President at their meeting last night.
Note From Ron Pallister - Jim Bomhof of Fergus has been appointed Assistant Commissioner of The OLA Senior B League. Jim Brings a plethora of lacrosse savvy to the table from being the long term GM of the Elora Mohawks Jr B Club, as well as prominent with the wellington Aces in their 2006 Presidents Cup Win.
Fred Wallace
Bayshore Broadcasting
Owen Sound