Dear Members and Friends:
Welcome to the August edition of the Veza – we have a lot to share so sit back and enjoy!
Let me start off by apologizing for what might seem to be a bit of a delay in communicating our news from August. Your executive team has been quite busy lately – both with work at our Croatian centre as well as in our personal lives.
Of the ten executive members on the committee, since the last Veza was sent, the following life changes have occurred:
Four have become parents (two for the very first time)
One has become a grandfather (again)
One has announced he and his wife are expecting (baby #3 mind you)
One is engaged to be married
Saying people have been busy lately is putting things mildly! We also know the remaining three executives will have to work hard to surpass these achievements before the next Veza is published 🙂
Anyway, just wanted to share some fun facts about some of us with you. I’ll end by saying how glad we are to share how we have wrapped up the Summer season – and a sneak peak what to look forward to this coming Fall and Winter.J. Grbavac, Public & Member Relations
Another successful season
Photos from our “Super Sunday” Picnic in August
Youth Awards Night
To properly end the summer soccer program for our youth athletes, our club celebrated another successful youth soccer season with its Awards Night.The night was filled with much joy and excitement, with both parents and children making great memories.
Take a look below at some of the photos from that night (more photos will be posted on the Hamilton Croatia website shortly).
Donation Update – Final Call for Donations
<— Ok, our actual fundraising thermometer isn’t quite this close to our target yet, but it was a great photo to highlight that we are in the final stretch of the fundraising campaign as we look to erect the donor wall.As was previously noted in past editions of the Veza, we are now making final preparations for the donor wall at our community centre which will recognize the financial donations, and volunteer workers, who made our building initiative possible.Members of the executive committee are calling each lifetime donor to ensure the accuracy of the names on the wall as well as to confirm the level at which their donation will be recorded. You will have a final look to make sure you are comfortable with everything.We are still on track to complete the wall before the Spring. As is the case in many other facilities that you may be aware of (i.e. hospitals), the recognition wall will be organized according to the various financial levels. Therefore, the ability to “top up” or make a new donation to have your family recognized at a level you are comfortable with is available now and will be discussed during our calls!
Once the phone calls are complete, we are proceeding with the design and construction of the donor wall. Please take this time to consider whether a donation to our centre is something you are able and willing to initiate and how you would like your family’s name and level to be etched in our wall which will stand for future generations to come.For more information, or to speak to someone regarding a donation before the wall is complete, please contact Jason Grbavac as soon as possible at jsgrbavac@gmail.com or at (905) 635-9602.
Basketball coming to Hamilton Croatia
Starting this fall, Hamilton Croatia will be offering an official basketball program for boys and girls born in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Click the link here 2015 Hoops for more info!
* Please take our basketball survey, click here to begin
Fall Park Day, October 24
On Saturday, October 24, Hamilton Croatia will be coordinating our annual Fall Park Day which is the day dedicated to officially winterize our park and facility.
The Hall and Club will still be open and available throughout the Winter of course; however, there is a lot of important work that is required before the snow flies and the cold temperatures arrive to ensure the park is properly closed and ready for next year. Some of the tasks include: stacking picnic tables, winterizing our bocce shed, etc. This is a call to all reading this (members and friends) who may be available on that Saturday, October 24 to join us. No particular skill set is required as this turns out to be a day full of important work but a lot of fun as well.
Maintenance VP, Steven Radencich will be coordinate all workers to tasks ahead of time to ensure the day goes as efficiently as in past years and we accomplish all of our items in one day. We ask all who are able to join us to inform Steven in advance by email at stevenradencich@gmail.com or via cell at (416) 526-1316.The Club will provide coffee and light breakfast treats (aka Tim Hortons) in the morning and a great lunch for all workers during the main lunch break. Please note, if you can make it even part of the day, for even an hour or two let’s say, it would be much appreciated!Thank you in advance for volunteering, contact Steven today!
Velika Gospa CroStock & 1st annual Bocce Cup
The Velika Gospa CroStock event as well as our August picnics were all tremendously successful. We would like to thank all volunteers and bands who played for free for their ongoing support. It is truly the tireless effort of volunteer members who make this organization as successful as it is for all of us, especially the youth.
During the early hours of CroStock, there was a Bocce tournament which was the first of its kind for us in Hamilton. It was a Champions League style tournament where teams from cities from neighbouring Croatian communities were invited to challenge Hamilton’s strongest sides.
In the end it was a visiting St. Catharines side who would eventually fall to Hamilton’s very own Mega Powers in the finals. Congratulations to all teams and organizers for a job well done. Special thanks to teams from Norval and St. Catharines for making the trip for this tournament. We look forward to next year’s tournament and growing this tournament to even more cities.
Champions – Mega PowersFinalists – St. Catharines
Local EventsRemembering one of our own (a long time member and women’s bocce player), and also supporting such a great cause
Hamilton Croatia wanted to advise its members and friends of the 3rd Annual Banquet to Beat Breast Cancer. The event is in honour of the late Zdenka Ciglanecki and will take place on Saturday, October 17, 2015 at the Croatian National Home.
The first two banquets have raised an impressive $29,000. For anyone who has been impacted by this terrible disease in any way, this is a great way to fight back together as a community. Hopefully our gathering and collected effort will help others find the treatment and care they deserve (and hopefully even work towards saving a life).
Hamilton Croatia Men’s A-team, Chicago Tournament 2015
Congratulations to our men’s A-team for defending our club’s logo in soccer competition at this year’s 52nd Annual Croatian National Soccer Tournament of Canada & USA held in Chicago.
The team was drawn in what many called the group of death and after three hard fought games unfortunately did not make it to action on tournament Sunday. However, on the up side, we look forward to the development of this team with the youth and veterans who currently mix nicely to fill this year’s roster.
Congratulations to the entire team and the HammerHeads that made the trip over to Chicago to cheer on our boys.
HNS updateThe Croatian National Soccer team announced recently a change to its coaching staff. Ante ÄŒaÄić was named head coach, with Josip Å imunić and Ante MiÅ¡e as assistants.
For more information on the head coach, please read more relavent articles here.
