Volunteer: a person who performs a service willingly and without pay. Sounds simple and something most of us do on a regular basis. It also seems that there is always more need than there are hands to go around however.

The Columbia Valley Rockies are in serious need of some new volunteers to help out. This organization has begun a rebuilding process that started with new coaching staff and many new players on the ice. These players are young and learning new skills every week. They are beginning to put those skills to good use and will soon be a force to be reckoned with on the ice. When you look around the arena to see what’s going on behind the scenes however, you see the same faces you’ve seen for several years, minus a few that are no longer able to take part. There are several holes to fill and lots of fun to be had! I urge you to come and be a part of this winning team (there are many ways to define success). If you really can’t see yourself doing one of the many jobs listed in the ad elsewhere in this edition, consider taking a hockey player into your home or just attend the home games and cheering the team on. You’ll enjoy yourself.

Volunteers are a big part of the Invermere Curling Centre (ICC) across the street from the Eddie Mountain Arena too. The Link to Rink event last weekend was a huge success (despite the power outage) and ICC evening manager Vic Briar credits his committee of Rob Dunn and Dave Gaspar with much of that success. Day manager Gary Hogarth provided great ice to curl on too. I’m sure Vic and Gary would be happy to hear from anybody that has extra time to volunteer there too.

I hope you’ll find time to fill out the survey you’ll find elsewhere in this edition too. You’ll help us help local businesses with some critical information and you could win a 50″ plasma TV as well. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Marilyn Berry is publisher of The Valley Echo