March 26, 2025, Mississauga, ON – …. David Hearn of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Collingwood Blues has been named OJHL Volunteer of the Year, the league announced today.
Hearn is a founding member of the Blues executive, joining the team shortly after the franchise relocated from Kingston to Collingwood in 2019. The former president of Collingwood minor hockey is currently vice-chair of the Jr. A team’s board.
Hearn is Manager of Game Operations for the defending national champion Blues. It’s no small job for a team that easily leads the 24-team OJHL in attendance, averaging 900-plus fans during the 2024-25 regular season.
“The Blues game day operation is vital,” said Blues Governor Dave Steele. “Dave literally does everything prior to the game, during the game and post game. All events come through Dave Hearn.
“He has been doing everything and (continues) adding events to the Blues for the last six years.”
“Everything” begins pregame at the ticket line inside Eddie Bush Memorial Arena and carries through to the post game, which includes thanking fans, win or lose, for attending that night.
In between there are 50/50 ticket sales, chuck-a-puck and shoot-to-win promotions.
Hearn also serves on the team’s golf tournament and gala committees.
The Hearns own season tickets for Blues home games, but David doesn’t sit in them. He’s too busy working the crowd.
“I’m like a ping-pong ball, bouncing all over the arena,” he said. “I see the game, but from a number of vantage points.”
“My motto is: once a fan has their car at the curb, what’s the experience they have from that moment coming through into the arena?,” Hearn told the OJHL. “What’s the enthusiasm they see in the arena, through the activities during the night and when they leave the arena?
“It’s the whole fan-base experience. It comes from my professional career, always asking, ‘what do our clients and employees experience from start to finish?’ I’ve adopted that policy with the Blues and it’s just been a lot of fun.”
Working with the Optimist Club of Collingwood and South Georgian Bay, which operates a 50/50 draw at every home game, more than $100,000 has been donated to organizations and programs that support kids.
Hearn was honoured with the Order of Collingwood in 2020, a reward honouring those “who continue to go above and beyond in their volunteer service to the community”.
A commercial real estate professional by day for the past 40 years, Hearn is an active member of the Optimists and an executive member of the Institute of Southern Georgian Bay, a regional community “Think and Do Tank” established to explore and provide new and innovative opportunities for prosperity to the area.
Hearn is a big fan of “the magic and systems” of Blues General Manager Mike Tarantino and Head Coach Andrew Campoli and their ability to ice back-to-back (2023 and 2024) OJHL championship rosters.
David will be honoured along with the other OJHL award recipients at a ceremony during the OJHL Championship Series in April.
The OJHL is announcing its 2024-25 award winners throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs.
TOMORROW: Humanitarian of the Year
About the OJHL – “League of Choice”
The Ontario Junior Hockey League is the largest Junior ‘A’ league operating under the auspices of the Canadian Junior Hockey League with 24 member clubs – including the 2024 national champion Collingwood Blues. A proud member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey Association, the OJHL was originally named the Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ Hockey League and it was formed out of the Central Junior ‘B’ Hockey League in 1993-94. With a long and storied history of developing players for the next level, including the CHL, U SPORTS, the NCAA, minor pro ranks and the NHL, the OJHL has had more than 100 commitments already this season.
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