MY EVERETT NEWS

Just heard of a cool program that the Everett Silvertips have developed with The Everett Clinic…

The Everett Silvertips are proud to announce an initiative with our partners at The Everett Clinic to provide complimentary Silvertips tickets to patients being treated through The Everett Clinic’s Center for Behavioral Health. The program, which is being carried out in honor of longtime Silvertips season ticket holder John Dickey, gives patients who are dealing with difficult circumstances in their lives an opportunity to enjoy a fun evening of Silvertips hockey free of charge.

The Everett Clinic Center for Behavioral Health provides confidential individual, group and family counseling for children, adolescents and adults. These counseling services address a wide range of behavioral concerns including depression, anxiety, marriage/family problems, grief and loss, low self-esteem, anger management and many more. Clinic staff strives to provide patients rapid relief from troubling symptoms through individually-crafted treatment plans.

“Taking part in fun activities is something that therapists will tell patients to do as part of their treatment,” said Behavioral Health Program Manager Nanette Reinecke. “We hope that this program encourages patients to get out and do something fun that they might not otherwise do on their own. Sometimes the little things can mean a lot.”

The idea for the project was brought forth by Silvertips Assistant Coach Mitch Love, who lost a dear friend last summer. John Dickey was a longtime season ticket holder and member of the Silvertips family, as well as a son, brother and husband. Although never clinically diagnosed with depression, he struggled for years with despair and sadness before his passing at the age of 55 on May 31, 2012. As a way of remembering and honoring his friend John, Love wanted to help others coping with similar issues to find joy in the game that first brought them together.

“Because of John’s passion for Silvertips hockey, I just thought this was a great opportunity for myself and the organization to try and help people of all ages who may be dealing with these kinds of concerns regarding their mental health,” Love explained. “Even if it’s just for a couple of hours during a hockey game, hopefully we can help put a smile on their faces and take their minds off whatever may be troubling them at that particular time.”

“I think it’s important to show people that there is help out there. Whether it’s a professional at The Everett Clinic or a friend down the block, there are people who want to help when you’re going through a rough patch in your life.”

Everett Clinic patients began receiving free Silvertips tickets midway through the current season and have already enjoyed a handful of games to date. On selected nights, participants could also have the opportunity to meet Silvertips players or even visit them outside the team’s locker room after the game as part of the program. The Silvertips work directly through care providers at The Everett Clinic to fulfill ticket requests, protecting the anonymity of patients who would prefer not to be identified.

“If you fill your life with good, clean fun, there’s not much room for the negative stuff,” said Reinecke. “The more light you see at the end of the tunnel, the better the chance of climbing out of the dark hole of depression.”

The Silvertips are looking for their 5th coach in 10 seasons

Just got this in from the Everett Silvertips…

EVERETT – The Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League today announced that the club has parted ways with Head Coach Mark Ferner and Assistant Coach Chris Hartsburg, who have been relieved of their duties effective immediately.  General Manager Garry Davidson will take over as Head Coach on an interim basis, with Mitch Love continuing in his role as Assistant Coach.

“After taking a great deal of time over the last 11 months assessing and analyzing the direction of our organization, I’ve come to the decision that a change needed to be made,” said Davidson. “It’s important for us to ensure that everyone in our organization operates under the same philosophy and shares the same vision of building a program that is among the WHL’s elite.”

“Mark Ferner and Chris Hartsburg deserve a great deal of respect and appreciation for all the hard work they have put in during their time with the Silvertips, and we would like to thank them both for their efforts.  Mark and Chris are good people and we wish them all the best going forward.”

The Silvertips will begin the search for the fifth head coach in franchise history in the offseason, with Davidson serving as interim coach through the remainder of the current season.  Love will remain in his current role as the lone assistant coach.  The franchise does not plan to add a second assistant coach at this time.

“In the short-term our goals have not changed,” Davidson added.  “We will continue developing our young team and still plan to contend for a playoff spot.  When the offseason arrives, we’ll conduct an extensive search for the right candidate to become the next Head Coach of the Everett Silvertips.”

The Silvertips open a five-game homestand Friday night at Comcast Arena.  The ‘Tips host the Victoria Royals Friday at 7:35 pm before facing the Winterhawks again Saturday at 7:05 pm in downtown Everett.  The ‘Tips will also have visits from Tri-City, Seattle and Lethbridge during the home stretch over the next two weeks.

Sunday is the last chance to see the Everett Silvertips hockey team before they take their mid-season break. It’s also the last big toy drive for Christmas House. Here’s an update direct from the Silvertips…
The Everett Silvertips are proud to once again partner with Christmas House to brighten the holiday season for those less fortunate with our 10th annual Christmas House Holiday Drive. At Sunday’s 5:05 pm matchup between the Silvertips and Portland Winterhawks, we’ll be collecting toys at donation bins on the concourse and Christmas House volunteers will accept monetary donations inside the main Comcast Arena entrance during our last game before Christmas.

Christmas House is a 501 ©(3) non-profit organization that has served the Snohomish County community since 1981. Their goal is to provide local children from low-income families with new toys, gifts and clothing during the holidays. Last year, the all-volunteer staff helped more than 10,500 infants, youths and teens from over 3,600 Snohomish County families receive clothing, blankets, toys and personal items during the holiday season. More information on the program can be found online at christmas-house.org.

Every Silvertips fans who donates a toy or make a cash contribution of at least $5.00 will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win these great Silvertips prizes:

* Autographed game-used hockey sticks by: Mitch Love, Carson Stadnyk, Ty Mappin
* Joshua Winquist 2011-12 game-worn jersey
* 2011-12 and 2012-13 bobblehead doll sets
* Use of a Silvertips suite for the January 15 game vs. Tri-City (16 tickets, 6 parking pass)
* 10th Anniversary Banner signed by the 2012-13 Silvertips
* 2012 NHL Draft program signed by Ryan Murray and Nick Walters
* Autographed, uncut Silvertips trading card sets from 2010-11 and 2011-12
* A Ride on the Silvertips FANBONI (up to 8 guests)
* Watch pre-game skate from the team bench
* Team signed Silvertips jersey
* Team signed Silvertips calendar
* Silvertips gift basket: includes t-shirts, Silvertips DVDs, flex tickets and many other items
* Silvertips decorated Christmas Tree

Prize drawings will be held during the second intermission of Sunday’s game.

Fans are not required to be present to win. No donation is necessary to enter drawing. Please limit entries to one entry per person per game. More information can be found at both the Christmas House table and the BECU Guest Services Table on the concourse.

Special tickets and pucks will help raise money for the Snohomish County Law Enforcement Memorial Fund

The Everett Silvertips have extended the deadline to purchase tickets for their annual Snohomish County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation Fundraiser on Friday, December 7th. The Tips will be facing the Seattle Thunderbirds in Comcast Arena at Everett and tickets ordered thru a special online offering are only $15 for Upper Level or $20 for Lower Level seats. That’s a savings of over $3 per ticket compared to the normal online price. Also, five dollars ($5) of each ticket ordered through this promotion will go to the Snohomish County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation. Tickets for the fundraiser must be purchased online to receive discount and will NOT be available for purchase at Comcast Arena Box office.

The Snohomish County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation fund was created in 2009 for the sole purpose of providing immediate financial assistance to the surviving spouse and children of any officer in Snohomish County killed in the line of duty. The fund operates on a donation and fund-raising basis only. In addition to ticket sales, commemorative pucks will be on sale for $10 each, with the proceeds going to the Snohomish County Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.

Photo courtesy of EverettSilvertips.com. Click for more “Pink The Rink” photos from Saturday night.

While the outcome of the game was disappointing, with the Everett Silvertips falling 3 – 2 against the Seattle Thunderbirds, the “Pink The Rink” event was a success. The Everett Silvertips report more than $80,000.00 was raised. Here’s their official press release…

Thanks to the generosity of our fans & supporters, the Everett Silvertips, Providence Regional Medical Center and the Safeway Foundation are proud to announce that “Pink the Rink” 2012 has raised over $80,000 in new donations to fight breast cancer in our community. By producing another huge donation figure, this year’s event has increased the total dollar amount to more than $210,000 raised for the cause in the four years since our first “Pink the Rink” in 2009.

The funds donated to the Providence General Foundation through Pink the Rink provide free breast cancer screenings for local women without insurance or the means to pay. By aiding with early detection, the money raised will help Providence fight breast cancer and ultimately save lives right here in Snohomish County and the surrounding areas.

“We are delighted and humbled at the support we’ve gotten from Silvertips fans, Providence Regional Medical Center, Safeway stores and the Safeway Foundation to help us raise such a staggering dollar amount again this year,” said Silvertips Executive Vice President Zoran Rajcic. “It’s inspiring to see how this event has truly taken off in four short years, and the response we’ve gotten from the entire community has been phenomenal. It was also great to see a sellout crowd for this year’s event, and the planning for next year starts tomorrow.”

For the second consecutive year, the Safeway Foundation more than doubled the total dollar amount raised with a $50,000 charitable donation to the Providence Comprehensive Breast Center in a center-ice presentation before the game. Pre-game festivities also included the introduction of eight local breast cancer survivors along with the Silvertips’ starting lineup for the game.

The fans of Silvertip Country stepped up to provide the rest of the donation total, filling the arena with an over-capacity crowd of 8,279 fans. In addition to ticket sales, money was raised through the auction of the Silvertips’ game-worn “Pink the Rink” specialty jersey and the sale of many other pink items such as t-shirts, pucks and cow bells. Thousands of light-up pink glow sticks handed out to fans courtesy of the Safeway Foundation and Providence Regional Medical Center also contributed to the atmosphere on this special night.