Ed O’Leary appears courtesy of the Brantford Expositor

Brantford’s David Hearn was “honoured” Tuesday to receive the Award of Merit for distinguished service to the annual Walter Gretzky/CNIB Celebrity Golf Classic and Charity Auction at the Brantford Golf and Country Club.

“It was a surprise to me that they were honouring me this year,” said the 30-year-old professional golfer, who represents the BGCC on the PGA’s Nationwide Tour.

“I’m honoured to receive it. We do a lot of charity work and to get recognized for it is pretty nice.”

Hearn is a graduate of North Park Collegiate and the University of Wyoming.

He’s been coming to the Gretzky tournament and hitting tee shots off a designated par-five hole for each group in the tournament. The groups pay $20 for the tee shot and the money raised benefits the CNIB.

“I have a lot of fun coming out here and hitting these tee shots and I guess a little bit goes a long way,” said Hearn.

“A lot of people have done a lot for this event and it’s nice that they have considered me as an important part of this event.

“It’s been fortunate that the way my schedule has worked out that I’ve been able to come back every year.”

Brantford businessman Dave Loney and radio host and comedian Jim Jerome were presented with the Dan Gallagher Memorial CNIB Friendship Award.

Loney has been a longtime supporter of the Gretzky tournament.

And Jerome, who has instrumental in raising over $30,000 a year for several years for the Walter Gretzky tournament in Edmonton, has been the emcee for the Brantford event for several years.

The Hella Goreski Memorial Award was presented to Mike Foster, who has been a volunteer with the tournament for the past 15 years.

The 2009 Sponsorship Award was given to Boston Pizza for its involvement with the tournament.

Ed O’Leary appears courtesy of the Brantford Expositor

Ed O’Leary appears courtesy of the Brantford Expositor

City businessman Dave Loney has been a longtime supporter of the Gretzky family and the many charities to which it contributes.

Loney, owner and president of Anthrafilter Ltd., dug deep into his pockets to show his support Monday night at the Brantford Golf and Country Club to show his support at the auction portion of the annual Walter Gretzky/CNIB Celebrity Golf Classic and Charity Auction.

“I enjoy the Gretzky family and I like to help the less fortunate,” said the 71-year-old Loney.

“I like to support the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) and I certainly like the Gretzky tournament.

“My two girls (Kim and Lori) went to school with the Gretzkys.”

Loney bid $1,200 to purchase a Wayne Gretzky No. 99 Edmonton Oilers jersey signed by the Great One.

It was the highest priced item in the auction, which brought in $16,654.

Loney also purchased a Pat Hickey-signed hockey stick, a Walter Gretzky Golf Classic shirt signed by the celebrities at last year’s tournament, a Wayne Gretzky Estates tasting certificate for up to 10 people, a Wayne and Walter Gretzky “Younger Years” print signed by Walter, a 1980 Civic Centre Shootout picture Gretzky, Hickey and goaltender Rick Wamsley that is signed by Hickey, and a signed Wayne Gretzky “Hanging Up Skates” New York Rangers picture.

Loney also purchased several items from the silent auction tables.

“I just got taken up with this but the whole event is terrific,” said Loney, who prefers to stay out of the limelight.

He has purchased sports memorabilia at the Gretzky auction over the years but he’s never bought as many items in one night as he did Monday.

What will he do with his new purchases.

“I told someone that one day they may come back so someone else can enjoy them and we’ll raise more money,” said the soft-spoken Loney.

This year’s money total was down from last year’s exceptional total of $24,625.

However, last year a package to NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in October in Charlotte, N. C., were sold during the regular auction along with several NASCAR memorabilia items.

This year, the NASCAR package, which includes a NASCAR garage tour, a tour of Hendrick Motorsports and a CARQUEST gift bag, will be sold through a silent auction at Ohsweken Speedway when it hosts the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, July 28-29.

The golf portion of the event will be played today at the country club.

Ed O’Leary appears courtesy of the Brantford Expositor

Ed O’Leary appears courtesy of the Brantford Expositor

Michigan Summit Plastics held off a rally by the Brantford 99ers on Tuesday to capture the bantam A championship at the 39th annual Wayne Gretzky International Hockey Tournament.

Summit Plastics, a squad which plays out of Fraser, Mich., built a 3-0 lead but needed a power-play goal late in the third period to secure a 4-2 victory over the never-say-die 99ers at the Gretzky Centre.

“It’s been a long tournament,” said 99ers’ head coach Jim Buchan.

Buchan said the team only had nine skaters available for the first three games because of suspensions, injuries and other absences.

In the round-robin portion of the tournament, the 99ers opened with a 6-0 win over the Clarkson Hurricanes but lost 5-2 to Summit and 1-0 to the Hamilton Tigers.

Meanwhile, Summit cruised through the round robin, defeating Brantford, the Tigers 3-0 and Clarkson 7-0.

In semifinal action, Summit thumped Clarkson 7-0 and Brantford, with the majority of its players back in the lineup, beat Hamilton 7-1.

“That’s a very good hockey team that we played tonight,” Buchan said of Summit, which plays in a AAA league in Michigan.

“It’s very tough to classify American teams.”

Summit looked as though it was going to run away with the championship game.

Matthew Seidel made it 1-0 in the first period, and Sly Sutter and Sean Erni increased the lead to 3-0 by the 5:40 mark of the second period.

Read More

Other Tournament News:

• Classy Move To End Tournament
• Minor Bantam AAA”s Finish On Top
• Peewee MD Saints Win In OT
• 99ers Vie For Championship Berths
• Atom Teams Battle To The End
• No Gatorade Shower For 99ers Coach
• 99er’s Face Stiffer Test Today
• Photos From Day 1
• Gretzky Tournament Set To Kickoff

- Ed O’Leary

Ed O’Leary appears courtesy of the Brantford Expositor

By Ed O’Leary, BRANTFORD EXPOSITOR

BRANTFORD – Jordan Szoke is the biggest star in the Parts Canada Superbike Championship. The 29-year-old from Brantford is a four-time Canadian champion and heavily favoured to capture his fifth crown this summer.

However, Szoke, who is also a two-time Pro 600 Series champion, doesn’t consider himself a celebrity from the world of sports when he’s walking or cruising around his hometown streets.

“It’s an honour to be celebrated in the community as a celebrity,” Szoke said at the Brantford Golf and Country Club where he played as a celebrity in the annual Walter Gretzky/CNIB Charity Celebrity Auction and Golf Classic.

“That’s a cool thing. I love supporting Wally and it’s a great cause. It reminds me of my father (Bob). He (Walter) is a big supporter for Wayne and my father has been just as big a supporter for me.”

The tournament committee voted Szoke as the winner of this year’s Award of Merit for his contributions to success of the tournament.

Szoke couldn’t play in the tournament last year because he’d suffered an injury racing and his arm was in a sling but he still showed up and rode around the course in a cart with a foursome

“It’s such a good run event,” Szoke said. “I’ve been to a few of these (charity tournaments) and the staff they have here is fantastic.”

Szoke noted that he was in “shock” to receive such a prestigious award.

“It’s an honour and I’m in good company,” said Szoke, noting that previous winners include the Gretzkys (Walter and Wayne), Olympian Kevin Sullivan and former NHLers Doug Jarvis and Chris Gratton.

“When you receive things like that it’s a bit of a weird feeling. I’m just trying to go out and win races and do my job so when you receive awards like that outside of racing, it’s shocking because you don’t expect it.”

Szoke is on the verge of setting several Canadian records in his own sport but trying not to pay attention to all the hype surrounding him at upcoming events such as this weekend’s doubleheader at Mosport near Bowmanville.

“All I’m trying to do is win races and as soon as I win a race I want to win another race,” said the Canadian Kawasaki Motors factory rider, who leads the Superbike and Pro 600 standings into the races Saturday and Sunday.

“Mosport is my favourite track,” Szoke said. “It’s my home race and I’m definitely the fan favourite. It (being the fan favourite) gives you a boost of confidence and you want to win for your fans.”