To my fellow CFL Alumni and friends:

Once again I am honoured and proud to address all of you as the Executive Director of the CFL Alumni Association (CFLAA).

The creation of the CFLAA represents a historic and major step forward in the relationship between the League and its retired players.

Mission statement: The Canadian Football League Alumni Association unites former CFL players in support of sport- and youth-related charitable causes; to offer support to former players experiencing financial or medical hardship; and the ongoing promotion of football in the community.

As Executive Director I would like to report some of our recent highlights:

  • The CFL through the Board of Governors has continued to provide funding for ongoing operations and support of the CFL Alumni Dire Needs Fund
  • Formed a greater working relationship with the CFLPA
  • CFL Alumni Dire Needs Fund administered and managed by a separate Board with a process to request and receive financial support in place
  • Major sponsorships with Nissan Canada, Herbal Magic and Gibson’s Finest
  • Celebrity Slow Pitch Challenge – iMarketing (formerly Xentel) with over 20 games coast to coast
  • Founding Committee Member of the Canadian Sports Concussion Project – chaired by Dr Charles Tator
  • Canadian House of Heroes – partnership formed with the Canadian House of Heroes Light Infantry to raise funds for our members with medical challenges
  • Career transition program for Alumni in conjunction with the CFLPA
  • Negotiated a “family pricing” agreement with Nissan

The CFLAA will continue to work together with the local Alumni Associations and will always be mindful that our purpose is to enhance the operations of the local Association. We have been able to cooperatively present a number of major events including:

  • We Support Our Troops – 2009, 2010, 2011 (recognition of the most deserving soldier of the 3PPCLI, Edmonton) partnership between Edmonton Eskimo Alumni, Edmonton Eskimo Football Club, and CFLAA
  • CFL Alumni Man of the Year Award: (2009 – Sam “The Rifle” Etcheverry, Montreal, 2010 – Bayne Norrie, Edmonton, 2011 – Norm Fieldgate, BC)
  • CFL Alumni Legends Lunch – Grey Cups 2009, 2010, 2011

The CFL Alumni and local Alumni shared the roles and responsibilities for each event. We also partnered in donating the proceeds of over $60,000 to the CFL Dire Needs Fund and over $20,000 to local amateur football through its member associations.

The issue of concussions in football and sport has received a great deal of media attention and has been an important objective. We have worked jointly with the CFL, CFLPA, Football Canada, and CIS Football to establish information worksheets and guidelines, and will continue to do so. Through our membership four of our former players, including Jay Roberts (Founding member of the CFLAA), Peter Ribbins, Tony Proudfoot and Booby Kuntz have donated their brains to research. As well, 20-40 of our members will be recruited to participate in a long term clinical study to determine concussions’ neurodegenerative impact.

We believe we are entering an unprecedented era of collaboration with the League, the CFL owners/board of Governors and our alumni. Indeed, the League’s enthusiastic reception to the CFLAA reflects a renewed respect and appreciation for the legendary men who built this grand foundation upon which the CFL stands today.

As Commissioner Mark Cohon stated recently in his blog…

“If we see a bright future for the CFL, and we truly do, it is because we stand on the shoulders of these extraordinary and ordinary men.”

In promotion of that respect and appreciation, the CFLAA Board of Directors and I are committed to maintaining an open line of communication with you and the League.

As we build our Association we are committed to our five strategic priorities:

1.Support awareness and research of brain injury and concussion.

2. Provide services and benefits, and a framework for communication of best practices, to, from, and between the CFLAA and club alumni associations.

3. Adopt practices and projects to become a financially viable organization that assists identified alumni and football-related projects.

4. Work with partners to promote the CFL tradition and awareness of football to alumni, youth, fans, and the public.

5. Provide good governance and management for the Association.

We all know there is tremendous strength in numbers and the benefits of working together as a team. We must remain united for the benefit of all alumni, And so, I am passionately urging all former players to stand up and be counted as members of their local Alumni Associations and the CFLAA. We have made great progress over the last couple of years but more work needs to be done.

If you or other former players you know have become disenfranchised, by choice or omission, now is the time to engage in a process that I know will reap substantial benefits for all of us.

Stay tuned for exciting new developments. In the meantime let’s keep ‘er going!

Leo Ezerins

Executive Director,

CFL Alumni Association