The Dark Clouds are celebrating their 15th Annual End of Year Awards and Charity Auction on Monday, November 5th at La Doña Cervecería.
The celebration–which honors players, members of the MNUFC community, and the volunteers that make the Dark Clouds possible–consists of two main events;
1. Charity Auction – We auction off pieces of memorabilia, and Minnesota soccer related oddities donated by Dark Clouds members, people from the Minnesota soccer community and from our partners. If you’re interested in donating an item, please contact us at info@dark-clouds.com . If you donate an item as an organization, we’re happy to feature your donation on social media. Proceeds from the charity auction will benefit our longtime friends and partners, The Sanneh Foundation.
2. Awards – Every year, the Dark Clouds give awards to people and players who have made an impact in our world. While voting has closed for this season, we hope you join us to honor the winners. The awards categories and previous winners can be found at the end of the article.
The party kicks off at 6:00pm, with the silent auction beginning at 7:00pm. Once the auction closes at 9:00pm, we’ll give out the awards
DETAILS AT A GLANCE:
WHO: Dark Clouds and Friends
WHAT: 15th Annual Dark Clouds End of Year Awards and Charity Auction
WHERE: La Doña Cervecería | 241 Fremont Ave N, Minneapolis
WHEN: Monday, November 5th | 6:00-10:00pm
Previous Award Winners
Player of the Year:
2004 – Dustin Branan
2005 – Freddy Juarez
2006 – Matt Schmidt
2007 – Nic Platter
2008 – Nic Platter
2009 – Nic Platter
2010 – Andres Arango
2011 – Kyle Altman
2012 – Matt VanOekel
2013 – Pablo Campos
2014 – Miguel Ibarra
2015 – Justin Davis
2016 – Christian Ramirez
2017 – Bobby Shuttleworth
Newcomer of the Year:
2004 – Jay Alberts
2005 – Nate Knox
2006 – Alfredo Esteves
2007 – Brian Farber
2008 – Ricardo Sanchez
2009 – Lawrence Olum
2010 – Simone Bracalello
2011 – Justin Davis
2012 – Miguel Ibarra
2013 – Calum Mallace
2014 – Christian Ramirez
2015 – Sammy Ndjock
2016 – Jeb Brovsky
2017 – Jerome Thiesson
Buzz Lagos Award (presented to individual (club or community) for lifetime achievement
2005 – Buzz Lagos (Namesake, original coach and leader of the Minnesota Thunder)
2007 – Liz Schorn (Thunder team trainer and photographer)
2009 – Claude Duran (Thunder team mascot, Thor)
2010- Manny Lagos (Original player, former coach and now club administrator)
2012 – Chris Lidholm (Broadcasting voice of the Minnesota Thunder, Stars, United)
2013 – Kevin Friedland (Player and man of one thousand hats that kept the team going thru many lean years)
2014 – Dan Barnes (Owner of original USL Discussion Boards, fan community in the early days)
2016 – Angie Blaker (Team Operations)
2017 – Brian Quarstad (Inside Minnesota Soccer)
Jackass of the Year (presented to Dark Cloud Supporter of the Year)
2005 – Keith Kramer
2007 – Kevin Joseph
2008 – Neal Logan
2009 – Tim “SuperRookie” Hayes
2010 – Scott Kerssen
2011 – Anthony de Sam Lazaro
2012 – David Smith
2013 – Ben Pfutzenreuter (Arts and Crafts); Wes Burdine (Discourse); Tim Alexander
2014 – Nachiket Karnik and Doreen Hartzell
2015 – Abe Opoti
2016 – Rich Harrison, Teresa Peterson, Sam Solberg
2017 – Jim Oliver
Misc:
2008 – Kevin Friedland – Humanitarian/Man of the Year
Iron Skillet Award: (presented by Dark Cloud leadership to a member who have fixed or improved organization)
2014 – Brandon Maurisak
2015 – Jeff Rueter & Jake Rueter
2016 – Nachiket Karnik (Nach)
2017 – Ben Krouse Gagne and Phil Cross
Tom Donovan Award: (presented to Dark Cloud traveler of the year as selected by Travel Committee Chair)
2017 – Andrew Lovgren