A campaign is underway to name the rink in the Navan Memorial Arena after the late Steve Barban who was the owner of the Navan Grads hockey team from 2007 until his untimely passing earlier this year.
Barban is largely credited for keeping the Grads in Navan. When he purchased the club from former owner Arnold Dashney in 2007, there were outside interests who wanted to buy the team and move it out of town.
After buying the Grads, Barban split his time between managing his investment company and serving as the PA announcer for the team’s home games.
Under Barban’s ownership, the Grads won the franchise’s one and only CJHL championship in 2024.
Away from the rink, Barban was heavily involved in the local community, supporting a number of initiatives. He would often sponsor competitive hockey players in need anonymously, He was a huge supporter of competitive girls’ hockey in Cumberland, and he was a lead sponsor for the U18 AAA boys’ pilot for Hockey Eastern Ontario.
The naming proposal is focused on the rink, not the Navan Memorial Centre itself much in the same way the rinks inside the Bob MacQuarrie Recereation Centre are named after former Gloucester Skating Club member and Olympic silver medalist Elizabeth Manley and the late Roger Senecal who was a long time volunteer with the Gloucester Hockey Association.
The campaign to rename the rink in Barban’s honour is being supported by the Navan Community Association and Orléans South-Navan city councillor Catherine Kitts.
The application is one of five commemor-ative naming initiatives currently being vetted by the City.
Should the application pass vetting it will be presented to a departmental working group within the Parks and Recreation Department which will be charged with either accepting or rejecting it. In almost every case the decision is a mere formality.
As part of the vetting process, members of the community have the opportunity to comment on the application by registering at engage.ottawa.ca and taking an online survey.
Members of the public have until Oct. 15 to submit their comments either in favour or against the application.
VINTAGE CAR EXPERIENCE from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cumberland Heritage Village Museum in Cumberland Village. Explore the rapid design and mechanical advancements made during the earliest years of the automotive era. Cost: Adult - $9.42; Senior (ages 65 and up) - $6.65; Student (valid full-time student ID required) - $6.65; Youth (ages 6 to 17) - $6.65; Child (ages 5 and under) - Free; Family (Up to two adults, and accompanying children, all living in the same household) - $23.83.
TRIVIA NIGHT from 6:30 p.m. at the Stray Dog Brewing Company. Exercise your grey matter before it turns to mush over the holidays. Reservations are a must to secure your spot. Send your team name and number of people to info@straydogbrewing.ca. The Stray Dog Brewing Company is located at 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park.
LIVE MUSIC at the Orléans branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, 800 Taylor Creek Dr. featuring the band Snap Crackle Pop. Everyone welcome.
CUMBERLAND FARMERS’ MARKET from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the R.J. Kennedy Arena in Cumberland Village with a variety of local farmers and vendors ready to showcase their freshest produce, handmade goods, and unique finds! FREE ADMISSION
