webster on the web

A few weeks ago I posted about a benefit hockey game being hosted by the Webster Schroeder hockey team. Today, I’d like to follow that up with another great hockey benefit, this time hosted by the Webster Thomas.

It’s called the Robert J. Smith  Memorial Hockey Showcase, scheduled for this coming Saturday Jan. 11. It’s played in honor of Bob Smith, who was instrumental to bringing youth hockey to Webster.

This annual event features four hockey games, raffles, luminaries and more. The action takes place at the Webster Ice Arena on Publisher’s Parkway. It begins at 1 p.m. with Bockport vs. Fulton, followed by Webster Thomas JV vs. Penfield JV at 3 p.m., Penfield vs. Gates/Wayne/EI and Wheatland at 5 p.m. The evening ends with a primo match-up between Thomas and Schroeder at 7 p.m.

Cost is just $5 per person, and all proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society. It is truly a showcase of local youth hockey talent.

The Thomas Titans also host an annual game to honor our heroes – active military, veterans and first responders. Now in its eighth year, this event will be held on January 31 at Webster Ice Arena, and has raised thousands for CDS Monarch Warrior Salute.

In a recent email,, Debra Vent said this about this event gets bigger and better every year:

Last year the team added a campaign known as Goals for Golisano where fans and families pledged money for each goal the team scored in Sectionals through States. Begun by goalie Cody Rougeux’s family as a way of giving back to the institution that saved Cody’s life, the team was able to raise over $4,000 for the hospital.

Debra also told me about another outstanding community service these young athletes also recently accomplished.

This year the team partnered with Carrie Green’s Happy Birthday Cha Cha Cha, whose motto is “Every child deserves a special day.” The program delivers birthday joy to children in need in the Rochester City School District grades K-2. Through the program each child receives a Cha Cha Cha bag for their birthday, with two small wrapped toys, grocery items, personal care items, and books. This year the program will deliver 1,000 bags to kids in need.

Titans players reached out to their friends, families and neighbors, to collect items for the program. The team were able to collect over 2,000 items for the program. This included over 215 boxes of mac and cheese, 195 pairs of socks, and 465 cereal bars.

On December 30 the team delivered the items to Carrie and helped sort and store them, as well as help pack birthday bags and wrap gifts. Even though the boys did not deliver the gifts to the kids personally, they clearly felt connected and dedicated to the program after working to collect the items and prepare them for delivery. The players were overheard exclaiming things like “I think my guy likes Pokemon” even though they’d never met the recipient.

Thank you to the Thomas Titans hockey team for all that you do for the community.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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Come the end of a new year and the beginning of a brand spanking new one, it’s easy to become nostalgic in so many ways. For me, last night, that nostalgia manifested itself in a trip back through all the blogs I wrote in 2019.

I was surprised to see that in 2019 I posted 186 individual blogs. That works out to an average of one every two days, which kind of surprised me, since it didn’t seem that  many to me. So I felt pretty good about that.

I thought it might be fun to come up with a top-10 list of my favorite blogs of the year, a la David Letterman. (Remember his lists?)  But then, as I scrolled through them one by one, I realized that was an unreasonable goal. While some of the stories touched me more than others, I enjoyed writing every single one.

What struck me more than anything else was the wide variety of topics I touched on — so many great people, businesses, events, organizations, and causes that make Webster great. So instead of that list, I thought I would summarize, as briefly as possible, my 2019 Webster on the Web.

I probably blogged about our town and village’s special events more than anything else. I usually previewed, then posted follow-up photos of, more than a dozen events including the Memorial Day parade and festivities, the Firemen’s Parade and Kiddie Parade, White Christmas in the Village, Halloween Trick or Treat Trail, the wine walks, the Greater Rochester Peep Show, the Garlic Fest, Waterfront Arts Fest and the Webster Fall Festival.

A close second in blog topics was news and reviews of our local businesses. 2019 saw a continued resurgence of East Main Street. We got a few more new businesses — Chandeliers Boutique and The Village Quilt Shoppe in particular, and several other Webster businesses celebrated anniversaries: LaLa of Webster celebrated its first birthday, Knucklehead Craft Brewing turned 5, and Barry’s Old School Irish turned 7. Strike Back Martial Arts won an award and Good Smoke BBQ officially became Roc Style Chicken and Burger.

I wrote a lot about our schools and great things that are happening there, including the musicals, marching band, and SparX robotics team. I wrote about some of our great schoolkids as well, like the preschoolers who held a food drive, a young Webster boy who gave his birthday toys away to hospitalized children (and who got his story on TV), Eagle Scouts, the champion 12U baseball team and more.

I highlighted local organizations that help make up the fabric of our community, including the Chorus of the Genesee, the Webster Volunteer Fire Dept., Webster Museum, the Joe Obbie Farmer’s Market, Bella’s Bumbas, and the American Legion.

Finally, I used my blog to share some of my personal thoughts, especially about the passing of Joe Dady, and my recent move to the village. I helped promote causes close to my heart, encouraging everyone to join me in the Miracle Field 5K, the First Responders 5K , and the Polar Plunge and to donate blood.

Whew.

I know a lot of you are still reading this blog, two whole page scrolls down from where it began. I know that because you are the folks who have been with me all year.

You are the reason I write this blog. Because even though I enjoy dong this, it would get pretty old if I thought my words weren’t making a difference.

So thank you all for being faithful readers. I wish you all a very happy, healthy and successful 2020, and I look forward to continuing to spread good news from our hometown.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.