By Janice Cavaretta
Tom Branden was the recipient of the USAH President’s Award of Excellence which was presented to him Sunday January 18, 2015 in Orlando Florida at the USAH winter meeting.
USA Hockey President Ron DeGregorio honored Tom with the award recognizing his outstanding leadership, dedication, contributions and service to youth hockey, USAH and NY hockey stating, “Tom has given tirelessly to registration, member services and most importantly to the game. He has gone above and beyond expectations on behalf of USAH in promoting our sport”.
Tom has been involved with many aspects of the game, and has seen it develop into the sport we know now. In his second term as the chair of the registrars section, Tom has embraced and assisted in the transition to the new web based registry which is making registration and the duties of the registrar much easier. He will continue assisting USAH in long term planning, centralizing data and using technology to further evolve the role of the registrar.
Tom Branden started in hockey in 1987 when his son Mark began playing in the Buffalo Regals House Program. It did not take long for the club to recognize his leadership, talents and his willingness to volunteer and get involved. Over the next 14 years, he served as manager for various teams, board member and assisted with tournaments, local hockey events and fund raisers with both the Regals and Saints hockey clubs. He broadened his horizons as a board member of the Empire West Hockey League before being appointed USAH Associated Registrar in 1994 where he served for 6 years before his promotion to USAH District Registrar for NY in 2000. Tom has also managed the Empire State Hockey teams over the years and is an integral part of the player development for NY. Additionally, he is a level 4 coach, has taken many of the age specific module training, has been a team leader and has traveled with the U20 National Team overseas.
Currently he is serving on the board of the Buffalo Sled Vets and when he is not working on something administratively for hockey you can find him at HARBORCENTER assisting with tournaments and providing guidance to the next generation of hockey volunteers.
Even though Tom Branden has never played the game, his impact over the last 28 years has been tremendous. His leadership, dedication and passion to this great game, along with the countless volunteer hours, administrative skills, the instilling of direction and mentorship in whatever he does to help the hockey community, the game and most importantly the players, is above all others.
Congratulations to Tom on the reception of this prestigious award and recognition of all his efforts.
The President’s Award is selected by USA Hockey President, Ron DeGregorio. Since 2008, these awards have been presented at the USA Hockey Annual Congress and the Winter Meeting. The award is presented to an individual who has performed outstanding service and dedication to USA Hockey
