Hockey Manitoba identifies ten recipients annually for the Regional Volunteer Recognition Awards from each of its ten regions as nominated by representatives from those regions and for the Eastman Region, this year's winner is Karen Smith.

"It was such a rewarding feeling after 7 years on the board", Smith says about being told of the honor. "Lots of really great memories, lots of time put in with really great people trying to move hockey forward in our region and it was a good feeling. I sure appreciated it."

Getting her start on the board in 2015, Smith reflected on the work she and her colleagues have done over the years. "When I came on board, there was a few of us that really had the mission of creating working in tandem, working as a team. Creating sub-committees, trying to do things as a group like a team on the ice would, and trying to eliminate individual decisions. I think we achieved a great amount of success."

Having more involvement from around the region was also something Smith and her group worked to increase. "Eastman's the largest region for hockey as far as oversight. The biggest challenge is being far apart. We wanted to create more unity. Now that I've left the board, looking back, I'm so proud of how many people come out and support, show up at meetings, and really care about the direction that hockey is going in our region."

Other accomplishments Smith was a part of organizing and hosting events like AAA Provincials and the Telus Cup. "I don't ever want to scare off volunteers," Smith says with a laugh. "I want volunteers to step up because, without them, we'd have no minor sports but when you put in those hours... Telus Cup was in 2017, it was very exciting to have it back here in our home arena and having the Eastman Selects playing there as well, it was extremely exciting trying to put more hockey on the board at home. The AAA Proviciniccals was special as well. Having people come from all different communities is really something special. Hockey is a Canadian game but there's a community pride that comes with it and to get to host those events here, was special."

Being on the Eastman Minor Hockey Board through the pandemic, Smith looks back on the time and what she feels people appreciate about the game after having it taken away. "(The pandemic) was all about change and preparation. Everyone in minor sports felt the pressure. It was challenging but people came together. Putting safety first, putting protocols in place, and doing everything we could to get people back on the ice as fast as we could, was the goal. We were also being respectful of people's different situations. It was one of the bigger challenges I ever dealt with in sports but I will say, we sure did appreciate getting back out on the ice and we got to get back to playing our game."

Getting back on the ice and getting back to games was great but Smith says it's so much more than the game. "I think one of the biggest takeaways was in sport, in hockey, mental health for young people. I say school is not an option for kids from kindergarten to grade 12, but sport is. Sport is something that completely drives a person or player to do something their passionate about. So when you take it away and the pandemic naturally did take from people for a period of time, it really affected mental health. Coming back to the rink, getting back into the dressing room, sitting next to teammates, and interacting with coaches, it all happens for the kids without them really thinking about it and it's all just so positive. I hope we never have to go through it again but it's shown us just how important hockey is to our youth."

Perhaps, Smith's proudest moments come from her work growing female hockey in the Eastman Region. "That all became extremely interesting for me" Smith explains. "I spent four years as the Eastman AAA U 18 rep. I got to work along with Brad Kirk, we all know his daughter Raygan Kirk, she's doing amazing things as a goalie representing Manitoba, Canada, and our region. I know we worked really hard to understand the differences and there are differences. Like, how to create U18 and U15 female AAA hockey programs when we don't deal with the same amount of numbers coming to tryouts. It's growing but we have to create a really strong U18 female AAA league."

Hear more about Smith's thoughts on the growing the female game here:

Smith will be given a plaque and be treated to a Winnipeg Jets game as part of winning the Regional Volunteer Recognition Award for the Eastman Region.