Princes of Community Service

In Oct. '98, myself and Amy Bromberg had the oppurtunity to interview 3 of the Charlotte Checkers...David Brosseau, Ryan Sittler, and Kurt Seher. In Dec. '98, The Rambler, my high school(Garinger) newspaper finally came out and the article was published in it. Below, u will see a copy of this article. Amy and I would like to thank David, Ryan, and Kurt for taking the time after practice to give us the interviews and Mark Simpson, the PR, rep for setting up the interviews. Although health problems kept Amy from helping me write the actual article, it is still as much her's as it is mine even though I wrote the whole thing and divised the whole prince angle.


Princes of Community Service

By: Nicole Austin & Amy Bromberg

Editor-in-Chief & Asst. Features Editor

Anyone in this world is capable of giving a few hours of their time to the community. Some of the most visible people out there who tend to motivate others are athletes. Charlotte is no exception to this. Being the Queen City, we can think of these athletes as princes and princesses.

Our Queen City has four teams of either princes or princesses. They are the (NFL) Carolina Panthers, (NBA) Charlotte Hornets, (ECHL) Charlotte Checkers, and the (WNBA) Charlotte Sting. The Charlotte Knights actually play in Fort Mill, SC and the (NHL) Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh, NC.

Recently, we talked to three of the princes from the Charlotte Checkers about their involvement in the community. But first, let' s get to know our princes.

David Brosseau is now in his third year as a Checker. However, he almost wasn't back. But circumstances in a higher league forced him to be cut and he returned to the Checkers. With his scoring abilities, David is the Prince of Scoring (and the female Checker fans hearts).

Ryan Sittler is in his first year as a Checker. He was acquired in the offseason from the Checkers rival, the South Carolina Stingrays. But Ryan's no traitor prince. No, he's the Prince of the Battle as he' s come out fighting with the best of them and racking up some penalty minutes.

Kurt Seher is the only player to have played with the Checkers in all of its season thus far. Now in his sixth season as a Checker, with a championship ring to wear with pride, he anchors the defense as the Prince of the Point. For those of you who don't know, when you play the point, it is similar to the point guard in basketball. This is the guy who gets the puck/ball and gives it to the forwards who score and who may on occasion score themselves ... like Kurt with his newfound shot.

But back to the community service. All three of our princes told us that they love to work with children...especially sick children in the hospitals. Ryan reiterated time and time again how great a feeling it is to make the kids happy and brighten th eir day. In September, Kurt was at Albermarle Elementary reading to students there. During the summer off season, David works at a hockey camp for kids in Montreal.

But let's dish some more on the hospital thing. A lot of people freak out about going to the hospital. But it is like Ryan told us...going out and visiting with the kid's gives you an opportunity to see how fortunate you are. By spending time with the sick children at the hospital, it gives the child a new sense of hope. David spoke of everyone being a kid once and when you' re a kid, you want someone there for you. Tha's what these princes are all about.

But how do you motivate a high schooler to get involved? Well, both Ryan and David said that it has to come from within. David also added that you have to give back when you' re ready, because you want o give back, and not just to look good. Kurt said it puts you in someone else\rquote s shoes to see how lucky you are. Besides, it's not like it's gonna kill you. Giving through community service can only make you a better person. It will add a smile to your face as well as someone else's.


Send me feedback on my article or go back to either David's page, Ryan's page, or the checkers page.