Congratulations to the following finalists:

Junior Male Athlete of the Year

Matthew Dumba – Red Deer Rebels
Nick Marchuk – Cheney Karate and Kickboxing
Brett Pasula – Red Deer Country Club/ Team Alberta Ryder Cup/ CJGA Team Canada

Junior Female Athlete of the Year

Jordan Huston – Red Deer Titans Track and Field
Molly Li – Red Deer Minor Softball
Emma MacDermaid – Red Deer Catalina Swim Club

Open Male Athlete of the Year

Darcy Kuemper – Red Deer Rebels (WHL)/ Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Red Deer Rebels (WHL) / Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
Keegan Soehn – Thunder Country Trampoline and Gymnastics

Open Female Athlete of the Year

Zina Kocher – Canadian Olympic Biathlon Athlete
Jodi Sanguin – RDC Cross Country Running
Julie Young – Team Canada Women’s Volleyball

Team of the Year

Lindsay Thurber Junior Raiders
Midget AAA Optimist Rebels
Peterman’s Curling Team

Coach of the Year

Doug Quinn – Red Deer Minor Hockey
Esad Elkaz – Red Deer City Soccer Association
Rene Simon – Red Deer Tennis Club

Official of the Year

Harvey Penhale
Donna Hateley

Stay tuned as more finalists are revealed…

Don’t forget to pick up your ticket for the event at the Recreation Centre. Cost for the event is $35 and includes dinner.

Get your tickets to the banquet February 10th, 2012.

Buy them at the City of Red Deer Recreation Centre.

Ticket Prices: $35

The Primary Care Network, proud sponsor of this year’s banquet, will be the host for the media luncheon on January 25th, where we will hear from  this year’s Community Sport Banquet guest speaker: Carol Huynh.

Carol is the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medal winner in wrestling and brought home Canada’s first gold medal of those Games.  She has continued her winning ways with gold medal performances at both the Commonwealth and Pan-Am Games and has secured her spot on the Olympic team in the pursuit of defending her gold medal in this summer’s London Olympics.

Please see the attached bio for more information on Carol.

Reminder that the deadline for applications for the various awards categories is Friday, February 3^rd.  More information on the Community Sport Banquet can be found at www.scord.ca

(Red Deer, Alberta) – Starting today, you can nominate a coach, official, volunteer, athlete or business supporter to be recognized at Red Deer’s Community Sport Banquet in March 2012 that is again proudly sponsored by the Red Deer Primary Care Network.

Submitting your nominations is as easy as ABC with the online nomination form. These submissions will go directly to the Sport Council of Red Deer (SCoRD) for their selection committee to evaluate.

The 2011 Red Deer Community Sport Awards will take place on Friday, March 9, 2012, at the Capri Hotel and Convention Centre; soon to be known as the Sheraton Red Deer.

Nominations for successes that occurred during the 2011 calendar year open on December 2. The public is encouraged to apply online at www.reddeer.ca and submit all complete applications before 4:00pm on February 3, 2012 deadline.

CLICK THE CATEGORIES TO NOMINATE:

Senior Athlete

Lifetime Achievement

Local Business of the Year

Coach of the Year

Junior Male/Female Athlete of the Year

Official of the Year

Open Male/Female Athlete

Team of the Year

Youth Official of the Year

Kendall Dunkle Award

Under 12 Certificate of Recognition

Under 15 Certificate of Recognition

Volunteer Recognition Certificate

For more information, please contact:

Mike Klass - Board Member - Sport Council of Red Deer

403-342-3231   michael.klass@rdc.ab.ca

Rob Meckling - Community and Program Facilitator

The City of Red Deer

403-309-8541      rob.meckling@reddeer.ca

check it out.

Red Deer Minor Football would like to extend our most heartfelt and sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Coach Larsen who passed away on Friday October 28, 2011 after a courageous battle with cancer.  Coach Larsen was an assistant coach with the atom Silver Bullets this season as well as an assistant coach with the Hunting Hills bantam football team.  We encourage all of the players that played for Coach Larsen over the years to attend his memorial service in a show of support for Coach Larsen’s family and in respect for the countess hours that he gave to our program and our community as a volunteer coach.

The memorial service will be held Thursday, Nov 3 at 1:00pm at Sunnybrook United Church.

Condolenses maybe forwarded to the family athttp://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1299708&fh_id=13716

Stacy Mitchell Larsen
(Died October 28, 2011)

Dr. Stacy Mitchell Larsen of Red Deer passed away on Friday, October 28th, 2011. Stacy was a loving father, devoted husband, gifted doctor and giving friend. Born in Innisfail, AB on December 5, 1968 to Vernon and Viola Larsen, Stacy grew up in Caroline and graduated from Caroline High School in 1986. Stacy started college in Red Deer and transferred to Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa to pursue his childhood passion for football. Without ever having played an organized game, he made the team as a walk-on, and while he soon recognized he would never be a pro – his passion for the game was cemented forever. Stacy went on to Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, where he graduated in 1993. It was in his final days in Chiropractic College when he met his wife Lauren Carr and they were married on April 16th, 1994. They returned to Red Deer where he began his practice and eventually established Larsen Family Chiropractic in 1999. Lauren and Stacy have three boys, Matthew, Peter and Evan all of whom inherited their father’s warm demeanor, kindness, intelligence and gift for athletics. Through his work as a chiropractor, Stacy touched hundreds of lives in the community, but he touched even more through his work as a volunteer. He loved his work with the Piper Creek Optimist Club and the Sunnybrook United Church Council where he made lasting friendships. As his family grew, he switched his focus from community service to coaching both lacrosse and football. Stacy loved coaching because the simple messages of sport could be such profound life lessons. He started coaching in 2007 and coached with the Atom Silver Bullets, the Red Deer Chiefs lacrosse teams and the Hunting Hills High School Bantam team. Earlier this year, he was awarded the 2010 Red Deer Spirit of Sport Award for his dedication to teaching young men life lessons through sport. He lived his life as a husband, father, doctor, coach and friend. Those that knew him would recognize that his mind and spirit kept him whole. He rallied to the sideline for each of his sons’ games but he definitely preferred football. In both his professional and personal life, Stacy’s philosophy centered around health, well-being and living life to your greatest potential. Dr. Larsen will continue to be loved, but sorely missed, by his wife Lauren and their sons Matthew, Peter and Evan, his parents Vern and Vi (Caroline), his brother Darcy and sister-in-law Kate (Edmonton), his sister Cindy and her daughters (Calgary), by his extended family throughout Alberta and the United States, his dozens of good friends and the hundreds of patients and young athletes whom he has touched over the years.

A Memorial Service will be held Thursday, November 3rd at 1:00 at Sunnybrook United Church – 12 Stanton Street in Red Deer. Memorial gifts may be made to the Children’s Chiropractic charity, Kentuckiana, 1810 Brownsboro Road, Louisville, KY 40206 or the Livestrong Foundation, 2201 E. Sixth Street, Austin, Texas 78702.