July 13, 2017
Lanny Stewart, soon-to-be former editor of the Westman Journal, has been named the Marketing and Communications Manager for the MJHL’s Virden Oil Capitals.
“We’re thrilled to have Lanny join our team,” said Jamie Hodson, Oil Capitals Director of Business and Hockey Operations. “This is part of the process of continually adding good people within the organization and really creating a foundation of professionalism and respect at all levels. He will do a great job of conveying to the fan base our group’s personality from a team perspective.”
Born in Virden, Stewart was raised in the small town of Beulah, which is approximately 40 minutes away from the home of the Oil Capitals. Hodson says he has a huge passion for the game and his tenacity and drive will help fuel the club in continuing to develop and grow team partnerships off the ice.
“This is a part time role for now. There will be ebbs and flows throughout the season and into the off-season in which we’ll have to work together in making efficient use of time,” Hodson said.
As the club continues to restructure from a business aspect off the ice, Stewart will be tasked to possibly grow this position back into full-time involvement in future years.
“Lanny is going to be parlaying this opportunity with a similar-like situation within the agriculture industry locally,” Hodson added. “As our hockey club is intertwined locally in many different industries, we see this as a win-win for the organization. Lanny is going to do a fine job in both settings and both organizations can’t wait for him to get started.”
Stewart will be tasked with growing the Oil Capitals club from several different angles – whether it’s the social networking aspect, branding, formulating game day operations and growing fan interaction with the club, along with continuing to evolve the Oil Capitals corporate partnerships into the coming years.
“We have an engaged and terrific fan base and Lanny will help mold the game day ambience so our fans feel part of the total on-ice experience,” Hodson said. “Our marketing partners are integral to any junior hockey club and it’s no different with our organization. Lanny will work with all our hockey personnel in demonstrating to all our partners that we are delivering on all these relationships.”
“This wasn’t an easy decision as we had many strong candidates,” Hodson continued. “For several reasons, at the end of the day, this is a great fit for both our hockey club and for our fan base.”
Troy Leslie, head coach and GM of the Oil Capitals, says the club is excited that Stewart has joined the organization.
“His passion for sports and hockey in the Westman area is so evident.”
Stewart says to have the chance to work for a first-class organization like the Virden Oil Capitals, it’s on opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“I want to say thank you to Jamie Hodson, Troy Leslie and the rest of the Oil Caps staff for the opportunity. Leaving the Westman Journal was a difficult decision. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the editor’s chair, but I’m ready for this new exciting challenge and can’t wait to get started.”
Stewart will begin his new role with the Oil Capitals on Aug. 8.