Rapid City – he Rapid City Rush proud ECHL affiliates of the NHL Calgary Flames are finalists in four categories for the 2024-2025 ECHL team awards.
Community Service Team of the Year
This award recognizes a team that excels both on and off the ice. This award focuses on how well a team operates overall and how significantly they impact their local community.
Four components are taken into consideration for inclusion in this nomination
1. Overall excellence 2.League cooperation
3. Program Compliance within the ECHL
4. Community Distinction – the team has distinguished itself in both gameplay and through its contributions to the community.
The Rapid City Rush accumulated over 1,000 volunteer hours and engaged with over 240 organizations through volunteer work and donations this past season.
Joe Babik Award for Media/PR Director of the Year – Cory Berberian
This award which began in 1989 is determined by a vote of the ECHL media relations directors and broadcasters
Rapid City Rushs’ Cory Berberian graduated from S.I.Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism in 2021. He began his career with the Rapid City Rush in April 2024.
Not only is Mr. Berberian the voice of Rush Hockey on FloHockey providing play-by-play for all 72 games per season, but he is also the lead public relations and media contact for the Rapid City Rush hockey team.
This is the fourth time a Rush broadcaster has been nominated for Media/ PR Director of the Year.
Corporate Partnership Professional of the Year – Georgia Veatch
This award recognizes the individual who has made the most significant contributions to the development and management of corporate partnerships within their organization.
Georgia Veatch is a two-time nominee and the only woman nominated in consecutive years. Georgia Veatch was promoted to vice president of Business Development in May 2025.
Most Creative Ticket Package of the Year for the Diamond Dig event.
Out of 400 applicants stating their cases 20 were selected and given the opportunity to pop balloons on the ice looking for the prize. The winner was awarded a $1,000 diamond ring courtesy of Riddles Jewelry located in Rapid City South Dakota. This is the second consecutive year that the Rapid City Rush has been a finalist in this category.
The ECHL Team Award winners will be announced on June 25th, 2025 at the ECHL Hockey Summer Meetings held in Orlando Florida presented by SponsorCX. The annual event honors teams and individuals for their accomplishments throughout the season in numerous categories.
