CONGRATULATIONS AND OUR THANKS TO YOU BOTH.
Dave, centre, and Lianne Niedermayer, right, were recognized for 27 years of volunteering for the Nipawin Hawks with a SaskEnergy Volunteer Champion Award. Review Photo/Devan C. Tasa
After 27 years of volunteering for the Nipawin Hawks, Lianne and Dave Niedermayer were rewarded with a SaskEnergy Volunteer Champion Award.
The award was given at the Feb. 3 game on the ice just before the Hawks faced off against their rivals, the Melfort Mustangs.
“I was actually very surprised. We do a lot of work, but we do it for the team, not for ourselves,” Lianne said. “It actually means a lot because over the last 20-some years we’ve done a lot for this team and it’s nice to be recognized.”
During their nearly three decades of volunteering, the couple hosted billets, have run the bar, sat on the board for five years, helped with the team’s radio auction, aided with the awards night and lent a hand with the fishing tournament.
They’ve stepped back a bit this year so they could watch some more hockey.
“We do what they need us to do,” Lianne said.
The Niedermayers moved to Nipawin in 1990. They started billeting and volunteering for the team in January 1991.
“I was raised with hockey, my brothers played hockey, it was just part of a natural fit when we met people up here to come to the rink,” Lianne said.
Lianne said they volunteer to ensure the team stays in town.
“It’s a very valuable part of Nipawin, I don’t want to see it go anywhere and we need volunteers,” she said. “I don’t know if this town would know what they were missing until they were gone, but they’d be missing it.”
Lianne said she hopes the team wins the playoffs this year and receives a banner to hang in the Centennial Arena.
