The 2026 CFLOAA Coaches Luncheon was held on April 25. The event was at the Cedarhill Golf and Country Club in the Dining Hall. A complication this year was the Ottawa Senator’s afternoon playoff game which caused a few to cancel at the last minute.
This year’s Luncheon welcomed the Ottawa Redblacks alumni. We celebrated the 10th anniversary of their 2016 Grey Cup win with a highlight video from that winning season (organized by Warner Miles). Former Redblacks Sherrod Baltimore, Abdul Kanneh, Ettore Lattanzio, Dominique Rhymes, and Jonathon Rose were our guests and were joined at their table by CFLOAA Board member Steve Glenn.
For the 1st time we had banners for the Rough Riders, Renegades and Redblacks displayed at the event thanks to Gary Page.
Registration and raffle sales began at 11am and were handled by Dick Dinelle and his daughter Lisa, and Dan Dever. The early start gave everyone a chance to mingle before the luncheon kicked off at 12 noon.
Lunch was served and once everyone was settled Jeff Avery (recovering from a knee replacement) called the audience to order and introduced his head table guests, new Head Coach and GM Ryan Dinwoodie and VP Shawn Burke.
Ryan (RD) and Shawn handled questions from Jeff covering a range of topics including their huge task of resigning so many free agents plus signing new free agents in key positions (running back, receiver, and defensive back). They also answered all the questions from the audience.
The raffle was a success with 40 items and record ticket sales. Shawn Burke again provided the top prize, lunch for two with him! Other prizes included Redblack game tickets, a signed Redblack jersey, gift certificates for Local Heroes, and for the LCBO, 15 Redblack/Football items etc. The prizes were donated by the Redblacks, Local Heroes, Tammy Laverty-Hall, Promo WRX and Board members Dick Dinelle, Jeff Avery, and Jim Cain. Jeff also purchased some ‘women type’ clothing items from Lansdowne Sports. The prize table was organized by Jim and wife Pam and, when Jeff pulled the raffle tickets, the winners were assisted in selecting the most appropriate item by Lisa Dinelle.
Funds from the Raffle go to support the football programs at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University and to the Support Fund of the CFL Alumni Association. The Support Fund offers financial support to CFL alumni who are experiencing financial hardship due to a medical condition or the sudden loss of income.
Once again, alumnus Gord Weber photographed the event, including the pictures accompanying this article.
Lunch with so many old friends (with many wearing their game jerseys), our Redblack guests plus the insiders’ views of the upcoming Redblacks season made the 2026 Coaches Luncheon a fun event!
