The Lethbridge Hurricanes are holding their Annual General Meeting next Wednesday, August 19th, but before that happens a group of shareholders which organized a meeting back in June plans on meeting again this week.
Jerry Ellerman has been the go-to man for a group of shareholders and I had a chance to speak with him briefly today to ask him about the meeting he's arranged for this Thursday, August 13th at 7 o'clock on the main floor of the Exhibition Grand Stand next to Bully's.
PS: What's the Purpose of this second meeting given the A.G.M is next week?
JE: "We're trying to get as many people to show up as humanly possible. We just finished doing a phone blitz of as many shareholders as we could get a hold of. Everybody is saying they want change......we say, well if you want change, it's your club, you come out and say what you want."
PS: Are there any of the shareholders you've talked to interested in running for the board?
JE: "There are the 5 of us that are running. We have the floor open to any new perspective board members. We're going to open up the floor to any shareholders so we can discuss openly what they like, what they don't like and what they'd like to see changed."
PS: What else do you plan to discuss Thursday?
JE: "What I'd like to see happen is for the people to show up and give everybody there, kind of a direction as to where they want to see things go. A couple of years ago we had an AGM where the people were just as upset as they are now and nothing got accomplished. We've got some questions that we should go up and ask properly so we can get some action and just to see what the people really want.
Thanks,
Pat
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Seriously....In the past two years we have seen more playoff games than we saw in the previous 10. I think that this group is working hard at stirring emotions and not basing much on fact. The hiring of Rich Preston is a huge opportunity to build on the past two years and work closer to the achievement of a Memorial Cup. People get real and start recognizing the fact that this team is on the rise not decline like Mr. Ellerman would like you to believe.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, ask the other teams in the league which franchise is the laughing stock of the league right now. Portland is laughing at us for what has transpired over the last year. Just because we had playoff games does not mean we succeeded. Remember we were ranked in the top 3 in all pre season polls last year. Calgary was ranked near the bottom. A properly run team like Calgary gets consistent results year in year out. Underachieving is what this team has done for way too long now. We as fans should not be satisfied with making the playoffs and getting embarrassed by the Hitmen. The fact is that players do not want to play here. Leadership within the team are embarrassed to be alumni. Something has to change to attract players. Mr. Ellerman is concerned for the good of the team. He a longtime business and personal supporter of the Hurricanes who is tired of the way things are operated. He is not some crazy fan trying to stir up the pot. He is a well informed individual who has his finger on the pulse of the community. With a community owned team the community must be involved. Meetings like this are needed. Just having one AGM per year is not enough to voice the opinions of shareholders. Proper businesses are organized before they enter a meeting. Just hiring Mr. Preston will not fix everything here. It starts from the top. The board controls the team and they have let this train run off the tracks. If you are happy with being a mediocre franchise that's fine. Those of us who want to make this team better and more stable need to voice our opinions. What do we have to lose by meeting and seeing what direction the owners of this team want to go. You are right that this team is on the rise. When you hit rock bottom there is nowhere but up to go.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me????? This board has put this team on the rails. The club is financially sound and has a very strong list. I encourage you to ask other teams in the league and ask them if this team is the laughing stock. That is simply not true and is your opinion and not fact. This team is not at rock bottom so quit fear mongering.
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