INNISFAIL – The Innisfail Eagles has a new president to lead the organization.
Former Innisfail mayor Brian Spiller was chosen to fill the role at the end of May and chaired his first meeting as club president on May 30.
“He's somebody that loves his community and loves the sports going on in his community,” said Ryan Dodd, Eagles' general manager. “He wants to build this hockey team within this community and make it great for everybody."
Dodd noted the community involvement of past presidents Dusty Daines and Randy Graham throughout the years. As a former president of the Innisfail Minor Hockey Association and a minor hockey coach for close to 25 years, Spiller is as community minded as they come, said Dodd.
“It was something that peaked (Spiller’s) interest. We had a few conversations and Mr. Sutter and I visited Brian and everything came together,” said Dodd. “Now we have a great community-minded person that's going to be leading our hockey club.
"We believe that we've added another key piece to our team,” he added. “Brian is a great guy and we look forward to working with him."
Spiller said he has enjoyed supporting the Eagles hockey club as a hockey fan for several years.
“I enjoy the sport. They were looking for someone with a little bit of business experience to step in and help them,” said Spiller, noting his business background and the positive impact his new role may have with the Eagles.
“Anything that makes (the team) more successful and allows Mr. Dodd and Mr. Sutter to concentrate more on coaching and less on managing team affairs,” said Spiller.
Hockey has played a big part in his life, he noted, and he looks forward to contributing to the Eagles' all-round success.
“Both Mr. Sutter and Mr. Dodd are very interested in putting a good quality, competitive team on the ice,” said Spiller. “I’m just going to do my part in helping the team run smoothly.”
