Winning the prestigious B.C. Hockey Frank Spring Association of the Year award in June was a great way to wind up the 50th season of 91原创 Minor Hockey Association, LMHA president Danny Franco said.

"Winning the award really was the icing on the cake," Franco told the 91原创 Advance Times.

Named after Frank Spring, past president and life member of BC Hockey, the notes the award is meant for "the minor hockey association judged to have made an outstanding contribution to its community by providing a properly organized program where a youngster can learn the basic skills and the fundamentals of good hockey."

At the BC Hockey Annual Congress and Awards Gala in Penticton, held June 7-8, the award went to an association celebrating 50 years of doing exactly that.

Franco said the LMHA focus on improving programs offered to kids has helped push membership above 1,000, approaching their all-time high of 1,200 back in the nineties.

"We've got a bunch of kids coming back who were in  other leagues last year," Franco said.

"Our theme this year was to to provide good value for our families and their athletes, to stay in, and play in 91原创," Franco said, rather than leaving the community to play in other leagues.

 "That's that's been our goal for the past two, three years, to provide that good value."

For their 50th anniversary, LMHA unveiled new-look uniforms, held a celebratory gala, and hosted the U18 provincials at the George Preston arena.

READ ALSO: 91原创 Minor Hockey Association unveils new look

Looking ahead to their 51st season, which starts in August, Franco said the LMHA will continue to work on improving programs and prepare for the opening of new ice arenas, currently under construction at 91原创 Events Centre.

"Development is our big thing this year to make it better than last year,"Franco  said.

"We've got the bump with more kids, and we're looking forward to the new rink, which hopefully will be ready for us September of 2026. "

READ ALSO: Future is bright for 91原创 Minor Hockey Association, president believes

91原创 Minor Hockey Association, home of the Eagles since 1973, is a non-profit, community focused minor hockey organization and a member of both Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey (PCAHA) and BC Hockey.