broncos meeting

A full crowd was on hand to listen and share ideas at the Broncos community interaction meeting

Renewal, transparency, elite... some of the key words that were focal points as the Swift Current Broncos presented their strategic management framework to a passionate crowd of over 100 people in the Credit Union iPlex Auditorium last night.

Chairman of the Board, Liam Choo-Foo says a key element of their plan is to tap into the talent and expertise of people in the community.

"Maybe what we haven't done as well as we should have in the past is reach out and create a forum to use that expertise," Choo-Foo said. "That's what these teams are all about as we reach out to groups of 7-10 people with very specific skill sets that will be allowing us to address areas that we want to improve on but also to explore new ideas that we don't have yet."

That group is part of what the Broncos are calling the "Profit and Position Advancement" team, where they can contribute to the renewal process.

The team's chairman also tried to calm fears about the team's future by expressing optimism about their direction and the financial picture after the execution of their plan. "It's really important for us to set a course and guide that ship and move it along that path. We may waver at times but we should always be moving in the right direction," says Choo-Foo.

Head Coach and General Manager, Mark Lamb was also on hand along with Director of Business Operations Jordan Wall to spell out the strategic management framework for the Broncos to become a premier WHL franchise on and off the ice.

The plan, which includes several elements of community interaction, was developed over a two year span.

One of the topics that was brought up during the question and answer period of the night was the possibility of re-opening memberships or bringing back shares in the team. It was 26 years ago that members of the community put up their own money to bring WHL hockey back to Swift Current.

Now it appears that within the next year, a new generation of fans may be able to make a similar mark on the franchise. Broncos Governor Al Stewart says their membership is getting older and they need to bring in some new blood.

"Those (existing) memberships are non-transferable so looking out into the not too distant future you realize that companies go defunct or move on, people age and pass on. Those memberships are slowly dwindling. So there is a point in time where the Board could theoretically not answer to anyone," Stewart says.

The governance committee of the Broncos board is working on how to roll out and handle a new membership drive and what that ownership structure might look like. The process is time consuming but Stewart hopes to have something ready for the public in the next year.

Full interview with Board Chairman, Liam Choo-Foo...



Full interview with Broncos Governor, Al Stewart...