Agenda 05-21-24; 8-a - Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 1 themselves. She said the future of hockey at the Sportsplex is in trouble if it is not placed in the 2 hands of volunteers and coaches that love the game. She said that it is currently headed to a 3 business that wants to profit from the game rather than instill the love of it. She said that the 4 coaches have been disregarded by the SportsPlex management. She said that she chose to 5 speak because she selfishly wants to go back to skating and coaching with a clear heart and she 6 knows that there are little girls there now learning to skate just like she did when she was three, 7 and she knows that they are watching. 8 Chris Bolduc, Hillsborough Hogs Hockey Director, said that many of his colleagues, 9 parents, and coaches have spoken about the spirit of Hogs Hockey. He said that it is similar to 10 the Hillsborough Hog Day Festival. He said that in 2019, the owner of the Carolina Hurricanes 11 asked their PR department to expose Hurricanes Hockey to all of the hockey programs in and 12 around Raleigh. He said that almost every rink within a 50-mile radius of PNC arena was 13 emblazed with Hurricanes posters and colors. He said that Shane Willis, the Hurricanes manager 14 of youth and amateur hockey, made a special phone call to the Hogs then-president, Gary 15 Howard. He said that Shane Willis asked Gary Howard if they would be interested in rebranding 16 their Triangle Youth Hockey (TYH) club to a more Hurricanes oriented look and feel. Gary 17 explained to the board what was proposed by the Hurricanes and emphatically made it clear that 18 they were not trying to take over but rather enhance and support our extraordinary efforts. He 19 said that TYH has met and exceeded what they would expect from a grassroots organization, and 20 they were proud of what they had accomplished, and they wanted to support their efforts to keep 21 hockey accessible and affordable for all youth in Orange County. He said that his PR team 22 discovered the Hillsborough Hog Days Festival when doing research on their community. He said 23 that this festival has been going on since 1983 and raises funds for youth services throughout the 24 county. He said it is the county's oldest and largest event and 100% of revenues go to support 25 children's projects. He said that it is fitting that their mascot and organization go along with the 26 iconic festival. He said it is rumored that the Hillsbrough Hog Mascot, Hamilton, and the 27 Hurricanes Mascot, Stormie the Pig, are first cousins. He joked that the TYH mascot is the third 28 cousin once removed, on Stormie's side of the family. He thanked the Board for their continued 29 support of their organization. 30 Joel Ackereizen said he is the parent of three Hillsborough Hogs players. He said he is 31 also a certified coach. He said the past two meetings he has sat and read the emails. He thanked 32 the Board for helping them out. He then turned to Willo (previous speaker)and said that he wants 33 her to know that there is a two-year-old girl learning to skate with her dad and 17 year old brother. 34 He thanked the Board for their time. 35 Martin Molloy said he received an email that the mediation session was positive. He 36 thanked the Board for their role in making that happen. He said they are not out of the woods and 37 asked the Board to keep the pressure on the Sportsplex. He said that he took his son skating 38 this past weekend and the Carolina Thunder have signups for three or four more teams that are 39 coming soon. He said that will be two or more practices a week plus games, and that will take 40 away from house recreational hockey. He said they needed the Board's support for house 41 recreational hockey in the community. He said that the Hogs are working to create a compromise 42 so they can serve as many kids as possible. He thanked the Board for their assistance and asked 43 them to keep supporting local community groups. 44 Nichole Palombo said she is a 16-year-old member of the Hillsborough Hogs. She said 45 that she was hired by the Sportsplex and the Hogs. She said she is involved with both parties. 46 She said that since COVID, the Sportsplex management has created a loss of community and it 47 is now a toxic environment and not the family fun place that it used to be. She said that 48 management will not talk to any person that does not agree with their programs. She said they 49 lost the best coach, female hockey player, and employee when Willo left due to the hostility. She 50 said they do not give notice about any decisions. She said the Hogs did not know they were 51 unable to use the pucks anymore and that they also removed the women's locker room. She said