Flyers volunteers keep on serving with over 100 years combined

LEAMINGTON – If you looked across all of Ontario, or for that matter across Canada, it is doubtful you’d find three volunteers who have worked alongside one another for over a total of 100 years. To be exact, the three have spent 102 volunteer years together.

The Leamington Jr. B Flyers have three such volunteers in John Hammond, Jerry Sleiman and Scott Holland and the three actually have 102 volunteer years combined.

All three have not been there every night or for every game, but as part of the press box crew, they have been an integral part of thousands of junior hockey games and extended their service and skills for many special events like the Heroes of Hockey contests, as well as OMHA regular season and playoff games.

Each brings a unique set of abilities which help make most nights run fairly smoothly.

John Hammond celebrates his 30th season with the Flyers this year as their public address system announcer. For many years, he also served on the team’s board of directors and helped develop and plan many fundraising events and outings.

Several years ago he said, “The three of us plan on being together as long as we possibly can and if one of us has to quit doing games or steps down for any reason, the other two will follow suit.”

John’s public service extends far beyond the Flyers hockey team. He has supported, and been an important part, of numerous fundraising events for many local organizations. As well, he is currently in his second term as a Leamington town councillor.

Of the three, Jerry Sleiman has the longest tenure with the club at 41 seasons.

The Leamington Flyers’ press box crew have amassed over 100 volunteer years. From left to right are Jerry Sleiman, John Hammond and Scott Holland. The trio has been working the Flyers press box for the past 30 years and were photographed together at a 2019 Flyers reunion night.

Photo courtesy of Shelly J. Quick

Jerry began as a trainer back in 1980- 81 when the Flyers were a powerhouse in the Great Lakes Jr. C loop.

By 1990, he had moved to the press box where he began work as the club’s official scorekeeper during home contests.

He did return as a trainer for a couple of seasons of Jr. B about a dozen years ago. On top of those two duties, in recent years he has been a smooth-talking announcer when Hammond could not make games.

He served on the Flyers board of directors and helped out many events when the team was both a Jr. C and Jr. B club.

John and Jerry have been captains with Leamington’s Fire Department, each having spent decades as firefighters.

Lastly, there’s Scott Holland who has served with the club for 32 seasons. Scott began playing music during stoppages and has served as a back-up timekeeper. He has also operated the online scoring system, announced games, been an official scorekeeper, done lineups, been a statistician and a reporter for the club.

Occasionally he has snapped photos, and for a two-year spell in the early 2000s, he was the West Conference’s head stats person and with that position was a part of the West’s executive.

During his long tenure, Scott has even had several stints as the club’s GM on a few road trips. Like John and Jerry, he has also served on the Flyers board of directors and been a volunteer at numerous fundraising events, plus has spent volunteer time with Southpoint Minor Hockey.

And if penalty box helper Joe Wickham was thrown into the mix, the foursome would have well over 125 years total.

With the abundance of talent, it is no wonder that these three are the heartbeat of Flyers’ home games and certainly an important part of each and every home contest, whether it is on a regular Thursday night or an off-date.