Old memories were shared and new ones were forged at the Innisfail Arena on July 14 when the Innisfail Yetti Junior B Lacrosse team held its First Annual Dave Lorette Memorial game.
The event was held to honour the extremely popular arena icon, affectionately known as "Arena Dave", who passed away unexpectedly on July 5.
The idea for the event came from a member of the Calgary Wranglers lacrosse team, Ziad Alim Hirjji, who is a longtime friend of Lorette's family.
"The Wranglers were scheduled to play us that Sunday," said Pat Hanson, manager and board member for the Yetti Junior Lacrosse Club. "The team manager, Leanne Triplett, contacted us and said that Ziad wanted to make a donation on Dave's behalf to two of Dave's favourite charities, and they wanted to do a little presentation at the game."
Upon hearing this proposition, the Yetti club decided to take the whole idea a step further and make the entire event about Lorette and the charities he supported, specifically the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation, and Alberta KidSport.
"Dave did so much to support lacrosse," said Hanson. "Not only in his official role at the arena, but just in general. He loved the sport and the kids who play it and they all loved him. He was a wonderful individual and we just wanted to do something special in his honour."
Hirjji personally donated $100 to each of the two charities. He made the presentation to Lorette's daughter, Pam Fry, who accepted on behalf of the organizations.
During his presentation, Hirjji said, "Dave was one of a kind. He was such a selfless man who always gave 150 per cent to anything he ever did. He loved his family, friends, and of course the arena and all the sports teams."
The Innisfail Yetti team donated the proceeds raised that day through their admission fees. "We only charge $2 to get in, but several people donated much more when they found out we were supporting Dave's favourite charities," said Hanson.
In addition, referee Jody McEwen of Airdrie donated his earnings for the day. "The total amount we raised at the end of the day was $356, which we divided evenly between the two charities," said Hanson. She was happy to see that the event garnered so much support from the community. "I just want to thank everyone who came out to honour Dave's memory and to support these great causes," she said.
The Dave Lorette Memorial Game will now be an annual event, marking the last regular home game of the Yetti Junior Lacrosse Club's season each year. "Initially we considered making the event to be when we played Calgary, which we usually do once per year," said Hanson. "Unfortunately, the season is just too unpredictable and we usually don't know very far in advance when we will be playing them, or if we will be playing them at home. So we decided on the last regular home game of the season. That way everyone knows well ahead of time when the event will be," she said.
Anyone wishing to donate to the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation may do so by visiting http://www.aiwc.ca/. Anyone wishing to donate to Alberta Kidsport should visit http://www.kidsport.ab.ca/.
