The community in “Hockeytown North” received sad news recently as long-time prospect tournament and training camp volunteer Charlie Inman passed away recently.
Charlie was a tremendous character and kind soul who would do the jobs that even the equipment managers wouldn’t, and he volunteered his own time to do so. The Traverse City Record-Eagle’s Brett A. Somers penned a remembrance of someone I admired greatly:
Chartwell Drive marks the final half mile of the Grand Rapids Griffins and Detroit Red Wings’ annual trips to Traverse City.
The teams come for the prospect tournament and training camp, respectively, but the organizations’ people have grown particularly fond of one welcoming face — that of Charlie Inman.
Long-time Griffins equipment manager Brad Thompson said he could always count on seeing Inman, a volunteer for two decades, waiting on his four-wheeler for the team to arrive, ready to direct parking and help in any way he could.
But when the Griffins turn off Hammond Road and on to Chartwell in September for the latest prospect tournament, Inman won’t be there to greet them. Inman, of Cedar and in his 70s, died Thursday following a heart attack, sending the Centre Ice community and its extended Red Wings camp family into mourning.
“I’m hoping somebody up there will give him a moment,” Thompson said. “For me, it will be a sad day when I roll into Traverse City and look around and not see my buddy after 15 or 16 years. It’s sad.”
Facebook posts and Twitter messages have poured out over social media since news of Inman’s death first went out. Centre Ice and Red Wings Camps online pages posted notes commemorating Inman and his service, work ethic and hockey fandom, to which hundreds of people reacted to, commented on and shared.
Update: Here’s a bit more from UpNorthLive’s Rachel Schuit:
Centre Ice Executive Director Terry Marchand says Charlie Inman passed away of a heart attack last week.
Inman was 73 years old.
Marchand says Inman was their number one volunteer and that he knew the players on the teams as well as fans who came to watch.
“He was our go to guy. If we were close to running out of water or needed someone to run and get stuff everybody thought Charlie Inman. He was counted on more than any other volunteer,” said Marchand.
Funeral arrangements for Inman are still pending.
Centre Ice Arena plans to have a memorial for Inman during the main training camp in September.
Sorry to hear that a dedicated volunteer has passed at a relatively young age (younger than me = young). May his family have peace and blessings in this time of mourning.