Yorkton Harvest team manager Wayne Henley who's been associated with the team since 1984 was honored Sunday afternoon at the Harvest home game by both the Yorkton Harvest Hockey Club and the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL).
SMAAAHL president Lloyd Friesen says the league has a lifetime membership group. Every year the league nominates people for lifetime memberships. Last spring the league governors were privileged to honor Henley for his contributions to the league over the years. On behalf of the SMAAAHL Friesen welcomed Henley to the lifetime membership with a plaque to commemorate the event.
Yorkton Harvest president Garth Simms says, "Wayne Henley day is a day honoring the guy who has been the glue for our franchise for over a quarter century." Henley was there for the club in its halcyon days as well as on the days when both volunteers and money were short, Simms adds "He was working hard to make sure the team and the organization would survive. To simply say thank you to him is not possible," Simms closes.
Henley says most of the time he's enjoyed working with the team through good times and the not so good times.
He started as a director with Reg Kachinowski, a position he held until 1990. He took over as team manager in 1990 a position he currently holds.
Henley recalls some memorable events during his time with the Harvest. In 1993 the team won the Air Canada Cup in Kitchener, Ontario. In 2003 the team won the league championship playing in Kamsack because of an ice conflict at home in Yorkton. They won the regional competition in Thunder Bay, Ontario to advance to the final in Sault Ste. Marie. The team was seeded fourth after the round robin and was eventually knocked out in the quarter final. "That was a pretty good trip as well," Henley recalls.
In 2002 the Harvest made it to the final in the annual Mac's tournament. They lost the final game 6-1 to the visiting team from Michigan. A highlight of that particular tournament was that the team got to use the NHL visitors dressing room at the Saddledome.
Last year Henley gave up his treasurer's duties. He spent quite a bit of time organizing the Harvest spring camp.
After the interview, Henley and his wife Kay retired to his favorite corner in the Farrell Agencies Arena to enjoy the hockey game.
