On Friday evening, September 9, 2016, the Westfield Girls Ice Hockey Team hosted a fundraiser at the The Grand Summit Hotel to raise funds to support its inaugural 2016 season. This well-attended event was the culmination of many months of hard work that went towards creating the first girls high school ice hockey team in Westfield and only the third public high school girls ice hockey team in the state. Overall, the night was a tremendous success. Approximately 175 members of the community ate, socialized and listened to music from Brother John Brown Band.
The night was made even more special by the attendance of members of the NJ Devils organization, including Captain Andrew Greene and defenseman, Jon Merrill. Both Mr. Greene and Mr. Merrill were exceptionally gracious with their time and took pictures and signed autographs for all in attendance, including the girls who make up this year’s team. Sherry Ross, the radio color commentator for the NJ Devils, gave an inspirational speech. In addition, both Natasha Moody (Vice President of Premium Services for the NJ Devils and the Prudential Center) and Danielle Toussaint (Director of Client Experience for the NJ Devils and the Prudential Center) gave motivational talks and wished the girls the best of luck this year.
Many thanks to Chris Forno, John McDevitt and Eric Snyder of the Westfield Hockey Club, which is donating practice jerseys and socks for this season. This fundraiser would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of Beth Hornstein, Jen Katz, Marty McDevitt and Dianna Snyder, the Co-Chairs of the WHS Girls Ice Hockey Board. We also want to extend our appreciation to the girls’ coach, Matt Gualtieri. Matt was a member of the first boy’s ice hockey team at Westfield High School in 1994.
Last, but not least, this team could not have been possible without the exceptionally generous support of the Westfield community.
Thanks so much for ensuring that these girls get to be on the ice!
(above) Westfield Ice Hockey team standing next to New Jersey Devil Defenseman Andy Greene.
(pictured) The Brother John Brown Band is a popular local 60’s & 70’s classic rock band available for parties and events. Like them of FaceBook.
To see the complete album of this event visit Westfield Girls Hockey Team Fundraising Event 2016
