OHA Ushering In New Era
The upcoming 130th Annual General Meeting of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) will ring in a new era after a governance restructure over the past eight months.
It was resolved and approved at the June 16, 2018 OHA Annual General Meeting that an immediate restructuring of the OHA was to be initiated and undertaken with a view to completing implementation by no later than the 2019 AGM. The Restructuring Resolution formally established a Governance Committee comprised of representatives from all categories within the OHA, with such representatives appointed by each of the categories. Subsequently, the categories did populate the Governance Committee with their chosen representatives and met in person and via teleconference on many occasions (along with support staff from the OHA and the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) and collectively expended hundreds of hours of time in furtherance of the objectives set forth in the OHA Governance Restructuring. Throughout the process, the Governance Committee fixated on communicating regularly with all OHA members as to the progress of its work.
The “New OHA Governance Structure” is one that better serves the needs of its members and lays a foundation to meet those needs for many years to come by restructuring to be a “members up” Association. The new Governance model will essentially allow leagues the autonomy to operate their own affairs provided they comply with and operate in a manner consistent with the By-Laws, Regulations and rules of Hockey Canada, the OHF and the OHA.
At an OHA Special Members meeting held on May 23, 2019 in Cambridge, Ont. the new Governance model, By- Laws, Regulations and Terms of Reference were approved with an almost 90 per cent approval by the OHA Membership.
The results of the Special Members Meeting set the table for the New OHA to emerge at the June 15, 2019 OHA Annual General Meeting.
“As the original charter member of the OHA, the Allan Cup Hockey League , wishes to recognize the great deal of effort and hard work put forth by a number of people, which has resulted in a new governance model for the OHA . We are extremely appreciative of their efforts and as well to the members and directors who over the last 130 years, have maintained the OHA as a viable builder, of the hockey genre, in Canada. We are certain that the new model will continue to sustain the test of time and serve the needs of the players, volunteers and the hockey community, within the OHF and Hockey Canada for years to come,” said Brent Ladds, ACH Commissioner and former President of the OHA.
“The OHA, as the oldest hockey association in the world, needed to take an inward look at the purpose of the association, with that purposed meeting the needs of players and member clubs. The change of the purpose from an operational association to one of governance will allow each level of the association to drive strategic improvements required to create a stronger infrastructure for all leagues. The Governance Committee, with the support of our branch and the OHF, were to collaboratively work together in the development of the final structure that was passed by the OHA Membership. The OJHL has already started to work with our Junior partners in the PJHL and GOJHL and we looking forward to creating the best player development model in the country. A special acknowledgement must go to outgoing OHA Chairman Tom Strauch for his dedication and passion to see this change occur our association,” Marty Savoy, OJHL Commissioner said.
“The new governance model allows members to be better engaged through the process. The structure will allow Members to Control operations, Programs and Activities. Thanks to the Governance Committee for their timeless efforts and commitment,” said Mark Tuck, GOJHL Deputy Commissioner.
“The OHA and the PJHL have undergone a huge restructuring at the request of their membership. The new OHA and PJHL will be driven with a ‘bottom up’ process giving the members the voices they have asked for. It is an exciting time for the PJHL to start to operate our own league. We look forward to branding ourselves and working with our member teams as the “Largest Junior Hockey League in the World,” and also capitalizing on our market presence and the scope of our league. Look for great things coming from the PJHL!,” said Terry Whiteside, PJHL Commissioner.