Until this season, Beyond the Bench has strictly been a labour of love. This fall, I reached out to see if i could find a few key sponsors to support the blog and ensure that I could keep delivering player interviews, photos and columns. The first to reach out was Eric Burke of Burke’s Brick Work. Burke’s Brick Works will be sponsoring this year’s player interviews. I figured I’d let Eric introduce himself and his business and share a little insight on why he wanted to back me up.

Tell us a bit about your business? What do you offer, and how can people take advantage of your services?

Eric Burke: Burke’s Brick Work is a full-service masonry company offering new home construction, as well as restoration work. We service both Grey and Bruce County. We work with all types of materials – brick, Block, and stone. We are available by phone at (289) 200-8290, by email at  burkesbrickwork@gmail.com You can  learn more at our website at https://www.burkesbrickwork.com and you can follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/burkesbrickwork and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/burkes_brick_work

What inspired you to reach out to support this blog and the Grey Bruce sports community?
Eric Burke: I wanted to reach out for 2 reasons. First, I wanted to be the first one to reach out and have the first opportunity to advertise with a new program. Hopefully the program continues to grow and succeed. Secondly, I feel like I am helping something grow, and hopefully my contributions can be part of someone else’s success. 

What does the Owen Sound Attack and having an OHL team in this community mean to you?
The Owen Sound Attack mean a lot to me. I am not originally from here. I am from Ajax, and I grew up an Oshawa Generals fan. For a while I fell out of love with junior hockey, and when we moved to Port Elgin, one of the selling features for me was that there is a hockey team close by and that we can go to games. Grey Bruce is a beautiful spot to live, however most of the recreational activities are outdoors, and through the winter, that can be difficult. Also there isn’t a lot of live entertainment (I’m a big concert/live music fan) so I turned to the Attack for entertainment reasons, along with the fact that I’m a diehard hockey fan of course. The second I entered the Bayshore I fell in love with the team. It’s big time hockey with a small town feel. It’s such an intimate opportunity to connect with the sport. This is my connection to the NHL, I was never able to play as a kid, which made it even more impossible to experience this level of hockey in my own life. The Attack being the smallest market and the smallest arena gives us a closer look at the team. How many other teams are accessible in the parking lot as they walk into games? Not many. How many other teams GMs stand in the crowd and chat with fans. NONE. We have such a special opportunity to be able to witness the next generation of pro hockey, and they’ve made it all accessible to us. Being a season ticket holder and someone who advertises their business at the arena makes me feel like I’m part of this club. Whether they know me by name or not, when I enter, I feel included in their journeys. This is my connection to the sport, and In a  larger sense -to the NHL. Even if my contributions are minimal, and don’t directly translate to the on ice product, I somehow feel as if I’m doing my part to help the team and the business succeed.

Thanks so much Eric. I can’t wait to get started.

Me too!