HOULTON, Maine — The State Farm Volunteer of the Year Award annually recognizes an outstanding volunteer who has contributed to amateur hockey in New Brunswick. The winner of the award should be someone who has enthusiasm for the game, is committed to making the game grow in a positive manner and goes above and beyond their volunteer requirements.
SAMHA State Farm Volunteer Of The Year: Ryan Brewer is a young veteran of the United States Air Force who learned the game of hockey at a later age than most. He then proceeded to pick up the game faster than anyone else his coach ever saw.
Brewer, a SAMHA alum has no children or family members in the program. He volunteers for the love of the game. He assisted with the Bantams, Peewees and on occasion the Atoms squads this year.
Brewer continues to encourage the players whenever he sees them. He made sure they knew whether they played lacrosse, baseball or were just riding their bike around this summer that he was around and wanted to check in with them.
“Ryan is a huge asset to our program,” Serenna Fitzpatrick, SAMHA president, said. “There were times when our head coach for bantams was unable to be at practices and sometimes games due to work schedule and Ryan never faltered, he always stepped up.”
Brewer also attended tournaments and state competitions for two teams, requiring him to travel to southern Maine three weekends in a row.
“We are very fortunate to have Ryan teaching our players the fundamentals, respect for themselves, others and the game,” Fitzpatrick said. “SAMHA looks forward to having Ryan continue to be a part of our program and the development of our youth hockey players.”
