After nearly a quarter of a century with the Red Deer Minor Hockey Association, Marv Seibel is hanging up his management jersey.
“It’s time,” he said Wednesday from the Edmonton International Airport, where he was waiting for a flight to Winnipeg for the Western Canada bantam hockey championship.
“I had a birthday yesterday and I’m 68.”
Seibel, whose retirement will become official at the end of June, was the RDMHA president for 12 years and then served as the association’s general manager the past dozen years.
When his years of minor hockey service are complete, the long-time city resident — who will continue to call Red Deer home — will hit the golf links on a regular basis and travel with his wife, Marion.
“But I’ll be hanging around for a bit, helping the new general manager ease into the position,” said Seibel.
“Applications for the job are coming in now.”
The Drumheller native arrived in Red Deer in 1985 as the sales manager for CKRD TV. Prior to that he was the general manager of a fledgling radio station in Stettler for 12 years and was also involved in radio in Peace River, Lloydminster and Lethbridge.
Before his radio stint in Stettler, he lived south of the border for several years as the broadcaster and public relations director for the Denver Spurs of the old Western Hockey League, and general manager of the Albuquerque Six Guns of the Central League. After moving to Red Deer he called games for the Red Deer Rustlers and Olds Grizzlys of the AJHL.
Two of his sons were junior players, with Chad, a defenceman, making WHL stops in Lethbridge, Prince Albert and Portland, and Troy, a goaltender, playing at the junior A level in Flin Flon, Minot, N.D., Chilliwack and Fort McMurray.
Chad currently lives in Los Angeles, while Troy resides in Huntsville, Ala. Both are graduates of the Red Deer minor hockey program.
Seibel also has a daughter (Alex) and son (David) living at home in Red Deer, and a daughter (Tracy) who resides in Huntsville.
As the RDMHA general manager, Seibel understandably dealt with various internal problems over the years, none of which he was willing to pinpoint.
“There were many positives and some negatives,” he said. “I think overall it’s been a good 20 some years . . . people have been very good. We’ve had our little stumbles here and there but that comes with the territory.”
Hosting the 2007 Telus Cup — the Canadian midget AAA championship — and the Western Canada bantam championship in the early ‘90s are among his highlights, as was the minor hockey association’s role in raising $1 million for the construction of the Collicutt Centre 10 years ago.
Along the way he helped oversee the vast growth of the RDMHA.
“We went from being a very small budget association to the $4 million operation that it is now,” said Seibel.
gmeachem@www.reddeeradvocate.com