For the past 25 years, as seafood industry executives descend on Boston each March for Seafood Expo North America, a group of hearty souls with ice in their veins lace up their skates for an exhibition hockey game that raises funds for seafood industry research.
Informally referred to as the NFI (National Fisheries Institute) hockey game for years, it is now named the Gorton Cup, in honor of Mike Gorton (pictured, center), chairman of Boston seafood supplier Slade Gorton, who’s long championed the game and its cause. The game at Harvard University’s Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Cambridge, Mass., serves as a fundraiser for the Seafood Industry Research Fund (SIRF).
“The SIRF hockey game is a highlight of the year for me,” said John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute. “To see Mike, at 80-plus years, skating with guys that were All-Americans, played junior A, or are otherwise hockey fanatics, is a joy and inspiration. But what this is about for Mike is raising funds for SIRF, so the industry can ensure we continue to put out safe and nutritious products — and who can deny Mike’s persistent requests to invest in SIRF! The Gorton Cup is great way to honor Mike’s 25-year achievement in raising more than USD 500,000 for SIRF.”
Jim Bonnvie, president of Seafax, in Cumberland Foreside, Maine, and one of the game’s other organizers, says the game features a “host of industry all stars” from the United States and Canada.
“Mike has had the passion behind it and the connections for the Harvard rink,” Bonnvie said. “It’s been a real good thing, and we’re looking to keep it going. It has been a constant. This is the one [fundraiser] we’ve rallied around.”
Gorton’s daughter, Kim Gorton (pictured, at left), the CEO of Slade Gorton, dropped the ceremonial first puck on Monday night.
“What a fitting tribute for a man whose two great passions are hockey and the seafood business,” she said. “And only as my father could, he found a way to connect them! I know that he has gotten so much out of being a part of this great industry for so many years, and that helping to support SIRF has been one way that he has very much enjoyed giving back.”
The elder Gorton still moves around the ice extremely well, by all accounts. His daughter, however, was hesitant to reveal her father’s age.
“My brothers and I have been so fortunate to work together with my father and we still learn from him every day,” she added. “One such lesson is that if I were to divulge his age, your next article might just be about my replacement.”
