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Upcoming Events
First Pre-season Game at
Pittsburgh - September 15th
Season Opener vs. Minnesota -
October 3rd
All Events
Community Support
Help the Jacket Backers Virtual Food Drive to benefit Mid-Ohio Foodbank
Potential Road Trips
Phoenix - October 9th
Washington - November 1st
More to come!
Links to Other, Great CBJ Information
Dispatch Puckrakers Blog
Light the Lamp
A Shot from the Point
CBJ blog - Hockey Buzz
The Cannon
Why Join or Renew as a Jacket Backer?
- Game Watching Parties Planned during
Season - Open to Public - with Door
Prize Giveaways
- Discounts on Organized Road Trips to
Travel and Support our Team
- Invitations to Members Only Events - Past Events have included Behind-The-Scenes Arena Tour, Dinners with Broadcasters, Potluck Viewing Party for the All-Star game; New Events all the time!
- Assist in Doing Good for the Community through Charitable Giving and Events
- Voting Rights at Club Meetings
- Monthly Electronic Newsletters
- A Fun Way to Socialize and Enjoy Hockey with other Jackets Fans
- Enjoy discounts at Central Ohio area shops and restaurant
- Join or Renew Online
Interested in doing more?
The Jacket Backers are always looking for help from members with various activities. Please email us with what you'd like to do and it will be forwarded to the appropriate committee.
Show us your Hockey Face!
Are you crazy about the Blue Jackets? Send us your best Hockey Face photos and you could be in a future Backer Buzz Newsletter.
2009-10 Jacket Backers Officers
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Welcome to the first newsletter of the 2009-10 Jacket Backers season! The home opener against Minnesota is less than a month away. Our goal with this new format to get newsletters and email blasts out quicker to all members with content that you cannot get anywhere else. There are many fine blogs which do a great job of recapping Blue Jackets' games and other analysis (some of them are linked on the left). There will probably be some of that but it will not be the focus, we are going to focus on other information such as CBJ player and personnel interviews, Jacket Backer events and community outreach. Please let us know what you think of this new format; the more frequent email blasts will have a similar look and feel.
"Make them bleed"
Details from Blue Jackets Media Day
by Brian Cluxton, Communications Chair
"I'm tired of watching Detroit in first place. I'd like to chase them. Somewhere along the line someone has to make them bleed, and it might as well be us." - Ken Hitchcock, September 9, 2009.
Julie Maurer, the Jacket Backers President, and I had the great fortune to attend the official Columbus Blue Jackets Media Day on September 9th in Nationwide Arena. Special thanks to Todd Sharrock, Vice President of Public Relations, for granting JB representatives access to this event. The players on hand, available for interviews by various media outlets: Rostislav Klesla, Mike Commodore, R.J. Umberger, Samuel Pahlsson and Steve Mason. All those players were available for 30 minutes and anyone was free to ask them questions; questions which were all over the board but primarily about how last year ended, gearing up for training camp, the preseason games and prospects for this coming year. One of the things I've found interesting about this year's training camp is the division of all camp players into 4 "fantasy teams". I asked both Umberger and Commodore what they thought of this and if there were any friendly wagers going on in the locker room? Their responses:
Umberger: (Laughs) No, not yet, there hasn't been anything going on. Maybe when it all starts... I think it's fun for us, adds a little bit of competition to the camp. It'll be a chance for us to get to know our owners a bit more. ...The closer the organization is, the better.
Commodore: (Laughs) You know what, yeah, I think it's a good idea - a neat idea. I know there's a lot of guys in camp and I think some guys didn't think they got an opportunity or whatever, I think Hitch said that. The scrimmages might be a little bit sloppy, but I think it's good, it's interesting.
The entire interviews we were able to record from Commodore and Umberger may be found here and here in WMA (Windows Media) format.
Another interesting item was when a reporter asked Steve Mason about the "sophomore jinx." He replied: "I think that's a myth, an excuse for when players start poorly in their second year." Mason went on to explain, paraphrasing here, that he is not content with how he played last season and worked very hard this summer to improve so he can become the best goalie in the league. Personally, I found this very encouraging and indicative of Mason's attitude going forward - he doesn't want to be just good or even great, he wants to be the best!
After the players interview, Coach Ken Hitchcock and GM Scott Howson were on deck in a more traditional press conference format. (Link here for full video of the press conference from BlueJackets TV.
President's Column
"...it's all about improving."
Hello Jackets Hockey Fans! For those of you who I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting, I'm Julie (formerly Barcus) Maurer, and I have the honor of continuing to serve as your club President for this upcoming season. I have a hunch if you're anything like me that this offseason has seemed (more than ever) to last an eternity! Which is not all bad, after all - summertime should last for a really long time. But not forever, or there'd be no room for hockey. So, a bittersweet goodbye to summer and HELLO HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!!!!
With the Jackets attaining the playoffs last April, fan excitement hit an all-time high in Columbus. Like our beloved Boys in Blue, the Jacket Backers also had a season to be proud of.
I am happy to share with you a summary of our "Jacket Backers 2008 - 2009 Year in Review". More in-depth information will be coming soon - look for it via email or on our website.
If you're reading this, you're obviously one of the most excited fans. That's one thing all of us have in common. Talking with a number of members and fans throughout last season and the playoffs, it is striking to hear how different you all are in your reasons and ways that you Carry the Flag. And yet, I am certain that our collective voices helped to propel our Jackets to further victory. We've all got our own part to play in the success of the 2009 - 2010 season. So share your ideas with the officers and your fellow members, and we'll do our best to take our club to the next level and make this organ-i-zation something we can all be proud to be involved with. You can email me ideas anytime at president@jacketbackers.org or leave me a voice mail message at our fairly new club telephone number, (614) 372-6093. Thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing some Jackets hockey with you soon! KABOOM!!! - Julie Maurer
Jacket Backers 2008 – 2009 Year in Review Summary
While we realize that there is plenty of room for improvement and the growth of our club, the Officers and Committee Chairs are very proud of our accomplishments this past year. With this in mind, we present The Jacket Backers 2008 – 2009 Year in Review.
While it is not our primary endeavor, The Jacket Backers, through our fundraising, advertising, donations and activities, were able to return approximately 67% of our membership dues to local charities during the last season.
We are always looking for new ideas and new people to help our club reach its potential. If you have not done so, please consider joining or renewing your membership with The Jacket Backers. If you are already a member, join us at one of our planning meetings or help with a committee.
2008 – 2009 Accomplishments in Brief
Membership - Reached 350 Members ($3525 in membership dues).
Community Service – The Jacket Backers raised $2347 for 8 different charities in addition to the food donations made to local food pantries.
Travel – The Jacket Backers helped hockey fans acquire 311 tickets in 9 cities (In most cases, we were able to obtain tickets at a discounted price by buying for the group). We provided bus transportation to St. Louis and acquired accommodation discounts in several cities.
Social – The Jacket Backers are a social organization and enjoying hockey and the Blue Jackets are our top priorities. Last season the Jacket Backers hosted 8 game watching parties at 7 locations around the city. We provided many door prize and raffle opportunities including several unique individual and team signed items. In addition, we offered 2 exclusive behind-the-scenes arena tours and 1 exclusive skate on the main ice at Nationwide.
General Business – The Jacket Backers worked hard behind the scenes to make improvements to the club’s foundation and policies, to prepare our club to become a larger organization.
Last season was an exhilarating thrill ride both on and off the ice. Here’s looking towards a fantastic season with a smooth ride to the playoffs for the team and continued growth and accomplishment for the Jacket Backers. As Scott Howson said at this year's Media Day, when asked if it would be even tougher to stay in the mix after clearing the major hurdle of making the playoffs last year: "The bar goes up internally and it's going to go up externally as well with our fans, and, uh - we just expect to be better. And I think we've been consistent in our message since both Hitch and I have gotten here - it's all about improving. And last year was a significant step for us, and it's time to move on and get better hopefully."
Putting the Ice In - The Full Story Coming Soon!
I will never look at the main sheet of ice in the same way again. Hundreds of thousands of people will see work that I helped to create. That has to be the most people who have ever looked at something that I have assisted with or done. I am so in awe of the technicians that are responsible for creating and maintaining that ice every day!
by Julie Maurer
Have you ever wondered how the main ice sheet is created at Nationwide? I have been oddly fascinated by the idea and have been asking the ice technicians all about the process for the last few years whenever I got a chance. I would ask questions but still not really get a good understanding of how it all works. I am sure that I asked so many questions that the technicians were amused by my persistence and fascination with the whole thing. The majority of the ice is installed by hand, layer by layer sprayed on. The painting is all done by hand. I could not imagine how that whole process would actually work. So when I was offered an opportunity to assist the ice crew in their main ice installation this year, I jumped at the chance. (I think they may have offered just to get me to quit asking questions.) My husband Brian was intrigued as well (but nowhere near as obsessed as me about this concept), and offered to come along with me to help the crew however he could. We knew it was going to be a long process, but had no idea just how labor intensive and involved the process actually is. I took almost 400 photos and several videos during the process, and kept sending myself emails from my mobile phone during the duration to keep a running timeline of the process. I had hoped to have this story ready by our first newsletter, but I want to take the time to get the story right. My personal involvement with the project began at 5 pm on Thursday, 9/3 and ended on Friday, 9/4 at around 10 am. The ice sheet was not yet complete at that point, but the painting was in. So for now - I am sharing a few photos and will get the Full Story done and share it with you very soon. I can't wait to see NHL hockey played on our ice!
Blue Jackets Word Search
One lucky current 2009 - 2010 JB member that mails in a correctly solved puzzle postmarked by Saturday, September 19 will have a chance to win a personalized Jacket Backers logo t-shirt! Send your solved puzzle along with your name, mailing address, email address and telephone number to: I want the shirt! c/o Jacket Backers, P.O. Box 82589, Columbus, OH 43202 and we will select one winner at random from all correctly completed entries. One entry per member, please. Please also include your membership card number from the back of your card if you have received it. Good luck and happy word hunting!
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