Drayton Valley, Alta – The Alberta Junior Hockey League announced today that the Board of Governors has unanimously approved the transfer of ownership of the Drayton Valley Thunder. The new ownership group includes Monte Waronek, Cindy Waronek, and Judy Sweet. Monte, Cindy and Judy are longtime residents and business owners in Drayton Valley and have been longtime supporters and board members of the Team.
“The AJHL is fortunate to have such a dedicated ownership group to take over the Thunder,” commented AJHL Commissioner, Ryan Bartoshyk. “On behalf of the league we want to thank the local ownership group for their outstanding commitment and leadership, not only to the AJHL but also to the town of Drayton Valley”.
Judy Sweet stated, “We are committed to the franchise continuing to be a proud part of the Drayton Valley community and look forward to building on an incredible strong base of community support.”
“We are looking forward to restoring the winning tradition of the Thunder and giving our fans something to be excited about,” said Cindy Waronek. “We want to thank our sponsors, fans, and volunteers for their unwavering support and are looking forward to our continued partnership. The Thunder has been a very big part of our community. We are going to work together to celebrate and build on our tradition in this our 20th season in the AJHL.”
Monte Waronek remarked, “The search for a new Coaching Staff is already underway. We are overwhelmed with the number of highly capable and exciting candidates who have applied thus far. We are confident we will have a great leader and coach in place within the next few weeks.”