Garinger steps down as Broncos president, new board elected

Kevin Garinger is stepping away from his role as president of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Humboldt Broncos.

Garinger, 50, declined to seek re-election as team president ahead of a Tuesday vote by the board of directors.

“It has been a pleasure and an honour to serve the Humboldt Broncos as president, and I look forward to remaining engaged and on the board as a director. It’s now time for me to turn my focus back to other areas of my life and make sure that I’m doing the best job I possibly can in all of them. I wish to thank all those who have now stepped up to fill the board of directors, and will join them supporting the new president as he or she moves forward with those responsibilities,” he said in a media release.

Garinger took on the volunteer role of president in order to help out the team ahead of the 2017-18 SJHL season. He was then thrust into the role of spokesperson following the April 6 Broncos’ bus crash, which killed 16 people and left 13 injured.

Humboldt native Jamie Brockman will now serve as president of the Broncos.

“I made a decision prior to the (annual general meeting) that I would put my name forward to join the Humboldt Broncos’ board of directors,” Brockman said in media release. “I have a lot of confidence in our current board of directors because these people also want to help, so I feel I have a great support network, and look forward to moving the team forward.”

The position is a familiar one for Brockman. He previously served as president of the team from 2012 to 2017.

Brockman was one of the seven new faces named to the board Tuesday, making it the first time in several years the entire board has been filled to start a season, according to a media release.

Team treasurer Darrin Duell also declined to pursue another term. He is to remain a director-at-large with the team board until next year.  He will also stay on as president of the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc. and the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation.

The Humboldt Broncos’  new board of directors is:

• President – Jamie Brockman (new)
• Vice-president – Maury Simoneau (new)
• Treasurer – Curtis Wacker (new)
• Secretary – Lee Dufort (new)
• Regan Kelly (new)
• Andre Kruger (new)
• Sheila Cochrane (new)
• Rob Eichorst
• Kathleen Keen
• Jay Fitzsimmons
• Kevin Garinger
• Darrin Duell

Brockman and the new board of directors will now gear up for the Stanley Cup’s arrival and team’s training camp, slated to start on Friday afternoon.

“I want to express my extreme gratitude to the past board of directors along with the executive from last year for stepping up the way they did — their lives were also turned upside down and I am thankful for the work they did,” Brockman said.