The Community Foundation of PEI is thrilled to announce the inaugural recipient of the Montague – Mount Hamilton Goodwill Games Scholarship.
The Montague-Mount Hamilton Goodwill Games Scholarship was established by members of the Hennebery family in 2018 as part of the 50th Anniversary of the event, to honour the legacy of Reg and Mary Hennebery, the co-founders of the tournament. The scholarship (currently valued at $500) will be awarded annually to a full time post-secondary student who played in the Goodwill Games as a member of the Montague Minor Hockey Association team.
The inaugural award recipient is Denver MacDonald of Little Pond, PEI who is currently attending the university of Windsor in Ontario studying education and playing on the varsity football team.
Denver participated in the Mount Hamilton Goodwill Games in 2011. His experiences with the goodwill games and his mentors are some of his fondest memories. “The Goodwill Games showed us how we can impact our community…from our bottle drive to raise money, to playing in front of a packed rink. I believe these experiences with teammates and coaches are some of the reasons I can’t wait to start coaching a youth team, mentoring children and are a factor in why I want to be a teacher.”
Teresa Hennebery, daughter of Reg and Mary says: “We couldn’t be happier to award the first scholarship to Denver. He is an excellent example of why our family wanted to acknowledge the lasting impact of the Goodwill Games on players, coaches and their families. This is the first of many scholarships that will be awarded to worthy students who are continuing their education”.
The story of the Goodwill Games’ origin is re-told in March of each year in Montague and Hamilton. Although living and working in Hamilton, Ernie McKenna, originally from Greenfield, loved PEI. In 1969 he contacted Mary who lived in New Perth to see if she could arrange some exhibition games in PEI for the Pee Wee team that he was coaching. After a few phone calls and discussions, arrangements were made for the Mount Hamilton Pee Wee Team (fondly called Ernie and his Islanders) to travel to Montague to play hockey, stay with families and experience the PEI way of life and hospitality. The Hamilton team had such a good time and wanting to reciprocate the Island generosity, they offered to host the Montague team the following year. This remarkable exchange continues today with the Montague team getting ready to host Hamilton on March 10th to mark 51 years of friendship, fun and sportsmanship for players, coaches and families.
“It is an ideal way to remember our mom and dad” said Teresa Hennebery. “Our parents valued their involvement in the Goodwill Games and made many great friends over the years. Mom and Dad would be honored that we established this endowment to support young people who played in the Goodwill Games who are pursuing post-secondary education.”
Kent Hudson, Executive Director of the Community Foundation of PEI commented, “We are truly honored to assist the Hennebery family in establishing this endowment and we are excited to now see the first scholarship awarded. When we are able to assist donors with their passions, it is very rewarding. This truly is a gift that will keep on giving forever.”
Application Process Now Open for 2019
Individuals interested in applying for this year’s Goodwill Games Scholarship (and many others) can visit the Community Foundation of PEI website at https://cfpei.ca. Applications are being accepted until May 1, 2019. Individuals can also contact the Foundation directly at [email protected] or by phone at 902-892-3440.
About the Community Foundation of PEI
For twenty-five years, the Community Foundation of Prince Edward Island has provided a ‘user-friendly’ vehicle for donors to create endowment funds to support charitable activities. An endowment fund allows the donor to leave a memorial legacy to meet their charitable interests in perpetuity. Since its incorporation, the Foundation has worked with donors to establish close to 80 endowment funds; these funds have allowed the Foundation to grant over $2.5 million to worthy community projects and individual scholarships since 1993.
For more information:
Kent Hudson | Executive Director
[email protected] | Phone 902-394-3790 | www.cfpei.ca