Volunteer of the Year
James has been an instrumental leader of our TUC leagues, both as overall Summer League Convenor for the last two years and Convenor for our popular Thursday Hangar Indoor Leagues for the last 3-4 years. As Summer League Convenor, James assisted our nightly leaders with field issues and conflict resolution. He also reviewed scheduling to ensure field equity and was a big contributor to our new ladder/division system. As Thursday League Indoor Convenor, James has steadily improved the league by making tweaks to the system and hosting an organized draft night. Chances are, if you played in a league in 2008, James contributed to the success of that league!
From our Board of Directors, our staff, and our members, thanks James!
November
Greg Schmidt is the November Volunteer of the Month. A longtime player and contributor, Greg has been an instrumental volunteer leader for TUC. He is most notably our Webmaster and has donated HUNDREDS of hours in the last few years to the continuous improvement of our website. Greg can often be found on the field or at TUC events, always helping out and doing the little things that enhance the TUC member experience.
The ease with which TUC members do so many of the things we take for granted, such as registration and scheduling, is very much thanks to Greg's work. He's also an incredibly helpful contributor on the TUC forums (as well as being the reason they work at all). We thank Greg for his technological genius and his ongoing contributions to the Toronto Ultimate Club.
October
Richard Krueger has volunteered with TUC in just about every way possible, and has improved the experience of most TUC members. You may have played in a league that he has convened. Maybe you've been to a tournament where he was volunteering. Perhaps you've used one of his improvements to Leaguerunner on the web site. Maybe you've read one of his helpful answers on the BBS.
Richard is leaving us soon, and he will be missed. To Richard we say: goodbye, good luck, and thank you for all your hard work!
September
Christine Gordon is the TUC Volunteer of the Month for September 2008. Our September Playoff series would not have run nearly as well without Christine, who volunteered for the whole day on both weekends. Christine was our TUC central guru; collecting and reporting scores, updating the schedule, helping teams locate their next game, and solving problems along the way. She also helped with setup and takedown - a true volunteer machine! Christine’s cheerful enthusiasm and helpful nature made the playoffs enjoyable for players, spectators, and organizers alike.
Thanks Christine!!!
August
Cheryl Lou-Hing is our August 2008 Volunteer of the Month. Cheryl has been coaching our August clinic league, and has helped to make it a fun and exciting experience for everyone. If you'd like to learn more about ultimate and meet fun people like Cheryl, come out to more of TUC's great clinics.
Thank you Cheryl for your help with the clinic league and Happy Birthday!
July
Coby Markus is our July Volunteer of the Month. Coby, a first-year Toronto Ultimate Club member, and first-time volunteer was indispensable for TUC at mid-season, helping out with TUC central, score tracking, keeping teams hydrated, and event setup. He was eager and proactive in helping out and generally left a great impression upon everyone he dealt with.
Thank you Coby for your excellent work.
June
When the TUC volunteer bat signal looms in the sky, Shawn Lee comes to the rescue! Shawn is our June Volunteer of the Month. He has been an instrumental volunteer throughout the spring at clinics and our city field cleanup, and he has continued to help out TUC this summer. As a key leader for our Clinics League, Shawn has been helping newcomers learn the ropes of Ultimate every Monday night for the past month. He also popped by for a cameo appearance at our Spirit Hat Tournament, infusing fun and Spirit into our event.
Constantly donating his time to help others and to help the Club, Shawn is another great example of what makes TUC such a unique Club. Thanks Shawn!
May
Stephanie Salerno is the May Volunteer of the Month. Steph's commitment and dedication to both High School and University ultimate is inspiring to all of us. Steph has been working twice a week teaching clinics in high schools throughout the city as a member of the ODSA/TUC RADD Program Toronto Summer Tour. She still finds the time, however, to dedicate 3 days a week to the Thornhill SS Ultimate Team, where she also volunteered throughout the winter. Steph has done this work quietly and with little recognition until now. Thanks Stephanie!
If you are a volunteer like Steph who is coaching high school ultimate you too can receive TUC volunteer points - contact volunteers@tuc.org for more info.
April
Josée Guibord is the Scallywags Volunteer of the Month for April 2008. A veteran leader and player on Toronto’s top women’s touring team, Lotus, Josée has sacrificed countless hours to the sport of Ultimate. She can be found at many of our clinics offering her expertise to TUC members, from the basic concepts to the hard-core strategy. Josée recently was part of a great instructional team who ran our TUC ‘team’ clinic. She has also been our coordinator for Women’s Spring League this year, helping new players develop their techniques as well as organizing games.
A great example of an elite-level player giving back to the sport, Josée has been an outstanding volunteer for TUC this Spring. Thanks Josée!
March
Ian Lee is the TUC Volunteer of the Month for March 2008. As the Clinics Chair for TUC, Ian has vowed to help our members learn new skills and hone their game. Not only does he assemble instructors and design a game plan for each clinic, but Ian also attends the clinics himself and shares his knowledge and passion for the game. In January he organized three very successful indoor clinics and he has worked hard in March to line-up two more in April... with more to come. Thanks to Ian, our clinics are diversified, organized, and fun. Our participation rates in TUC clinics are higher and our members are learning more from them.
Is there something you’d like to see in an upcoming clinic? Contact Ian at clinics@tuc.org.
February
Tom Walsh is the February ’08 Volunteer of the Month. Tom was present both days for our Catch the Spirit High School Tournament, helping to score games, setup fields, and run skill clinics. With help from our committed volunteers the tournament was a great success, running very smoothly.
Tom has also offered to be our new Volunteer Chair, filling a greatly needed role for the Club. Interested in volunteering? Contact Tom at volunteers@tuc.org.
January
Nate Habermeyer is the TUC January Volunteer of the Month. Not only has Nate been flashing his Ultimate skills on the touring scene, but he has also been applying his publishing skills to the TUC Pie Plate. As the Editor-in-Chief of the 2007 edition, Nate has volunteered countless hours in designing, drafting, and revisions. The 2007 Pie Plate, a look back on the year of 2007 in TUC, is now available online.
A big kudos to volunteers like Nate who continue on the tradition of the Pie Plate!
The 2008 Volunteer of the Month awards were brought to you by Scallywags Bar, Restaurant and Year-Round Patio. Each Volunteer of the Month received $50 Scally's Dollars that could be used towards any purchase at Scallywags!