from the tournament program...
The next three days of hockey are to honor Joe Raymond and to
celebrate his love of hockey and his desire to grow the sport in the
Milwaukee area.
Joe dedicated numerous hours of his personal time working
with youth and high school players. He put forth so much effort in
developing their skills, work ethics and attitudes. He put spirit and
fun into practices and games, all while keeping the moment
intense. He taught our children that through hard work they would
succeed, not only in hockey, but also in many facets of their everyday
life – He truly taught by example.
As we gather here the next three days, we hope you feel the thrill
and excitement of the games, but also a sense of joy and pride as
you watch the skaters on the ice. They too, have put forth much
effort and commitment. We can be proud of their dedication to
the exhilarating sport of hockey.
We hope you enjoy this tournament and have as much fun as we
have had planning it. Thank you for attending and helping to carry
on our tradition - Joe would be proud.
Welcome to the 15th Annual Joe Raymond Memorial. This is an independent
tournament that is financed by the Joe Raymond Memorial Fund.
We replenish this fund with proceeds from the gate during the
tournament and a golf outing held each summer.
We do not charge the teams a fee; it is free to them. To put that into perspective, if they were to host three home games, the cost would be close
to $2,000. There will be three games each night with the 15th Annual
Champion crowned the last evening.
Joe loved tournaments and we felt that if we were to hold
one in his name, we would do it right. We furnish all the players
with a long sleeved t-shirt with the tournament logo, and give the
coaching staffs a golf shirt with the logo. We give each player and
coach food tickets and drink tickets to be used at the Nagawaukee
concession.
We also give six fleece sweatshirts made with the tourney
logo and the words “2013 All Tournament Team” on it to the six
players chosen throughout the tournament. We have been fortunate
to have D1 players and an NHL player receive these in the past.
Please examine the two trophies in the lobby and read the names
of the past winners. The JRM sculpture trophy was made by Joe’s
wife, Cindy.
We have been fortunate to have some very good teams over
the years. This tournament has always had some very competitive
games. We look forward to more of those this year. Being a six
team tourney, we have had to establish tiebreakers in case they are
needed. Thus, every goal will be important in this tournament. The
teams that can play a full 51 minutes can be rewarded. Good luck
to all teams!
We would like to thank all of the people who have helped
over the years, whether it was working at the tourney, supporting
the golf outing, or coming to watch good hockey. We thank you.
Specifically, Nick Sanchez and the whole “Nags Crew,” Phil Kuta,
Doug Owsiak, Mike Benson, Mike Helker, Charlie Hall, Mike Nevins,
Carole Marino, Jill Marino, Jackie Kuta, John Zea, Mark Tomchek,
Jeff Baldwin, Bill Otis, Steve Chapin, and the whole Raymond family.
We hope that you enjoy!