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Burke, Sather 'very inspirational'

January 23rd, 2008 by Marc Weber - The Province

Brian Burke and Glen Sather were the guest of honour at the 2nd annual Chilliwack Rotary / Chilliwack Bruins gala dinner.

A major purpose of Monday's gala dinner put on by the Chilliwack Bruins and Chilliwack Rotary Club was to raise money for the Bruins' players education fund.

Consider an hour-long Q-and-A session with Stanley Cup-winning general managers and Bruins part-owners Brian Burke and Glen Sather

a free lecture.

"That was amazing," beamed Bruins forward Mark Santorelli. "I could listen to them all night. They have so much advice and so much knowledge. It's priceless, I think."

Under the WHL scholarship program, players receive a full year of tuition and books at a Western Canadian university for every year they play (and one shift is considered a year).

The Bruins also require their high school graduates to take a class at University College of the Fraser Valley, and the money from the sold-out fundraiser supports those aims.

Global TV's Squire Barnes sat down with the two GMs and the banter ranged from insight for the most knowledgeable fan to sheer comic relief.

"I grew up a few years late for the glory years," said Bruins forward and Edmonton native Matt Meropoulis, "but I look back at 'The Boys on the Bus' video and it was really exciting to see the guy behind it all.

"It was very inspirational to me. The way he talked about how tight the group was. How you're going to give up a lot, but in the end it's all worth it."

Both Burke and Sather put in considerable effort to be at the function -- Burke choosing Chilliwack over the Ducks' big casino fundraiser, which is modelled on the Canucks Dice & Ice event.

"I really enjoy being involved in the WHL," said Burke. "I think it's a great hockey product and Chilliwack is a great market."

The theme of the night was, "It's all about winning," but for Burke it all comes back to community involvement.

At the start of the season, he sat down the Bruins' 19- and 20-year olds and didn't mince words, a meeting captain Nick Holden recalled as "intimidating."

"It's non-negotiable in Anaheim, it was never negotiable in Vancouver, and it's not negotiable in Chilliwack," said Burke.

"If you're going to take advantage and play in a great community like this, then you're going to give back."