The Edmonton Elks are about to make a splash with the hiring of head coach Mark Kilam but a much quieter staffing move made could say almost as much about new president Chris Morris’ plans for the franchise.
On Monday, the Elks appointed Jim Skitsko as their ambassador to amateur football, marking a new chapter in how the team works with the local community. The move will give the CFL club a continuous and active presence at the grassroots level, while providing stakeholders a voice in the decision-making process.
“Adding Jim now gives us a conduit between our team and the amateur football community in our surrounding area here and even to the north, where he can now talk to the different stakeholders in that community and then talk to us about where we need to be. Some great strategic places where we can send our players and send our cheer team, and where we can engage,” Morris explained on 880 CHED’s Inside Sports.
“Our amateur football community are one of our biggest supporters and having a bridge between us and them with someone like Jim, who’s got decades and decades of experience, I think it’s just a logical thing for us to do.”
Skitsko spent 24 years as the head coach of the Sherwood Park Rams minor football team, building one of the top amateur programs in the Edmonton area and producing elite players like NFL running back Chuba Hubbard. He also helped to create an annual bursary program which has helped more than 200 former athletes pursue post-secondary education.
The Alberta Provincial Court judge is soon slated to retire from the bench and Morris expects him to handle his new ambassadorship like a full-time job — even if he won’t be compensated like one.
“Jim is volunteering his time. I’m giving Jim a couple of jackets and said, ‘Dude, you’ve got to help me out here because I need you on this thing.’ He’s doing it because of his love for the sport,” Morris said. “We’re in a situation right now financially where we’re going to make some things work. This position, to me, has to be someone who cares and who isn’t so much in it for the money. Jim is a perfect person for it.”
“I just think he’s the ideal candidate for us because he understands the value of football in people’s lives. For him, it was never just about if he won. Don’t get me wrong, he won lots, but it wasn’t just about winning football games. For him, it was about the transformation he can facilitate in the young people who are playing the sport by doing it the right way.”
Morris was complimentary of the work that the Elks have previously done to work with grassroots organizations, like the Capital District Minor Football Association (CDMFA) and Football Alberta, but felt the need to take a more strategic approach. He described Skitsko’s appointment as an enhancement of their current efforts as they try to rebuild a reputation that has been eroded by front-office turnover and poor on-field performance.
“One of the most significant visions I have for this team going forward is being far more connected to not just the general Northern Alberta football community, but specifically to the amateur football community right around us here in the capital region,” he said. “I think we have a great team of people here who do our community outreach. They’re wonderful and they want to get involved with the community as much as we can. We’re going to expand our efforts this year to keep our players around town to make sure we have resources to engage with our community.”
The Elks have seen their stature diminish over the last several years, as the team has failed to make the playoffs in each of the last four seasons. Attendance at Commonwealth Stadium has plummeted as a result, while the franchise has been accused of losing sight of its role in the community dating back to the tenure of president Chris Presson.
Two subsequent presidents, Victor Cui and Rick LeLacheur, failed to restore the team’s reputation, with a vocal minority of fans still pointing to the name change as evidence of a departure from their historic roots. While Morris has made bringing back the glory days a core pillar of his platform as president, he believes the perception of many doesn’t match the reality.
“The Eskimos are the Elks. We are the same organization. We’re just getting back to some core values that I think we’ve always valued here,” Morris insisted. “A lot of the things we’re doing right now with this Amateur Football Ambassador are things that the Elks have been doing. I think sometimes when you’re not doing the things on the field that everybody would like to see, a lot of effort that’s put into other parts, such as community engagement, that kind of gets pushed to the wayside.”
“My team here, just from getting to know them for this past month, they really care about being connected with Edmonton. These guys here are doing everything they can to make sure that this club is serving the community. We’re just sort of enhancing that a little bit with bringing somebody like Jim in.”
