International Women’s Day
The women who work for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League are an integral part of the major junior organization. Today, in honour of International Women’s Day, we are highlighting the hard work and dedication of our female employees, their education, athletic and career endeavours, achievements and the knowledge and expertise they bring to the Titan.
Throughout our 27-year history along the Bay of Chaleur, we have seen an increase in the number of women who work within or volunteer for the Acadie-Bathurst. The 2023-24 season is a historical milestone, as it marks the first time, we have had nine women employed within the team, the highest number in one season in the organization’s history.
Please join us in celebrating Titan Athletic Therapist, Megan Sullivan; Director of Marketing and Game Day Coordinator, Erin White; Communications, Foundation & Community Coordinator, Bryannah James; Accounting & Administrative Assistant, Sarvin Ergin; Academic Advisor, Denise Ouellet; Media Coordinator, Mylene Ouellet-LeBlanc; Administrative Assistant, Ginette Boudreau; Billet Coordinator, Marilyn Wilson and Marketing Assistant, Brooke Maclellan.
Megan Sullivan: Athletic Therapist
Originally from Bathurst, Megan is a former hockey player who played U18 AAA in northern New Brunswick before going to play four seasons between the pipes for the University of Prince Edward Island Women’s Hockey team. She graduated from UPEI with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in 2018 and graduated from Mount Royal University in 2020 with an Advanced Athletic Therapy Certificate.
While a student athletic therapist in Calgary, Megan was part of the medical team for the Calgary Dino Men’s Football team, which won the 2019 Vanier Cup U Sports National Championship.
Her inaugural season behind the bench with the Titan was during the 2020-21 year, and she joined the team following a year off, during the 2022-23 season.
Megan – who is a hockey fan and continues to play the sport for fun during her free time – started reffing two years ago and was on the ice as linesperson earlier this month for the AUS women’s final decisive game between the University of New Brunswick and St. Francis Xavier University.
Outside the rink, Megan spends her summer hitting the green and can be found on the golf course, or spending time with her golden retrievers, Jackson and Enzo.
Erin White: Marketing Director and Game Day Coordinator
Erin has been a part of the Titan family for years. Her parents billeted players when she was younger, and she first joined the team as the ABTitan Marketing Intern in 2014-15 and had a front row seat to the Subway Super Series Canada vs Russia.
A social butterfly who enjoys working with the public, Erin spent two years studying at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture, before switching majors and attending the University of New Brunswick. During her time at UNB, she was the social coordinator for two years at Truman House and worked as an intern/summer student for three years with the Titan.
Erin graduated with a Bachelor of Sports Management (recreation and sports studies) and in 2018 the Titan hired her full time as Marketing Coordinator. She was later promoted as Director of Marketing and Game Coordinator in 2018 when the position became available. While she has many memorable experiences working for the organization – such as a front row seat to the 2018 President and Memorial Cup wins – working alongside the NHL for the Kraft Hockeyville game is top of the list.
Erin left for a year and a half, as she says “for a hot second” to try something new and work in the insurance industry, but decided it wasn’t for her. She has since returned this season to resume her role in marketing.
Outside the rink Erin loves cooking, is a fixture on the snowmobile trails in northern New Brunswick and is a huge reality TV fan. She’s also an accomplished athlete in her own right.
Throughout her youth, Erin competed competitively in Equestrian Sports throughout Canada and the USA. Her primary discipline was Western Pleasure and Horsemanship, where she competed in Jackpot (big $$$ classes) and Pro divisions.
She hit the gridiron for three years as an Offensive Linemen for the Lady Gladiators in the Maritime Women’s Football League (2015-2018) and worked for Football NB during their player performance evaluation camp for provincial teams.
Bryannah James: Communications, Community & Foundation Coordinator
Bryannah, another dedicated Hockey Mom at the Titan, spends the majority of her week at a rink between work and watching her sons compete in hockey.
She joined the team in the fall of 2021 following a nine-year journalism career. She was a reporter for both the Miramichi Leader and Northern Light newspapers from 2012-2021. As a reporter she met and interviewed countless people such as but not limited to Philip Riteman, Ron MacLean, Stephen Harper, Roberto Luongo, Margaret Trudeau, Noah Dobson, Theo Fleury, Charline Labonté, Jagmeet Singh, Marcel Dionne and Bob McKenzie.
She flew in a Hercules with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s SkyHawks and stood tethered in the plane when they dropped open the back hatch over Miramichi skies; During the pandemic, brought needed levity to readers with her weekly provincial column about her children. In 2014 when the news broke of the Parliament Hill shooting, Bryannah had the opportunity to tell the story of how then Sergeant at Arms, Kevin Vickers, had also saved his younger brother once when they were children.
In 2018 she covered Bathurst’s President and Memorial Cup championships, and in 2019 was part of a team of Brunswick News journalists who won Atlantic Journalism Award silver.
Prior to covering community journalism in the northern part of the province, Bryannah – who grew up in British Columbia, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia – was the sports editor and a previous sportswriter for the University of New Brunswick’s student newspaper The Brunswickan. Bryannah won the paper’s 2012 sports story of the year for her work on Heartbreak.
The St. Thomas University alumnus (double major journalism and history) competed on numerous sports teams and won various sporting accolades throughout her youth and suited-up for the STU women’s soccer team during the 2010-11 season.
Denise Ouellet: Academic advisor
Denise Ouellet has been a season ticket holder with the Titan since the team first moved to the region in 1998, and over the years has become more and more involved within the organization. She has been a devoted Billet Mom for years, and last year started a new role with the organization when she took the reins as Titan Academic Advisor.
Helping youth and student athletes achieve their academic success is nothing new for Denise, who is a retired l’École Secondaire Népisiguit teacher. She has always had a strong sense of school and community spirit and is a dedicated volunteer within both organizations. She gravitated around anything that involved sports, whether it was being an athlete herself, to becoming a volleyball manager and president of “Le comité regional Chaleur des Jeux de l’Acadie”, and much more!
She is her grandchildren’s biggest cheerleader and fully immerses herself in helping them in their sporting endeavors, whether it’s hockey, golf, volleyball, baseball, min handball and more.
Sarvin Ergin: Accounting & Administrative Assistant
Celebrating the Titan is a family affair for Sarvin, who is marking three years with Acadie-Bathurst. Her son, Erol, is a huge Titan fan who loves his major junior team, and her husband Guvenc, is a member of the Shriners, who are a staple at every Titan game.
Originally from Iran, Sarvin moved to Canada when she was 11-years old and is fluent in three languages (English, Farsi and Turkish) and is learning and honing her French skills. She’s a graduate of the University of Ottawa (General Bachelor of Arts and Sciences) and the University of British Columbia, the latter of which she has a Masters of Science in Neuroscience.
Mylène Ouellet: Social Media Coordinator
Mylène has been involved with the Titan since the team first moved to the Bay of Chaleur during the 1998-99 season. In 1999 – when Bathurst won their first President Cup trophy – she was a runner during home games at the K.C. Irving Regional Centre.
Mylene has volunteered with the Titan over the years, taking a more active role within the organization two years ago, and this year joining the team as a part-time Media Coordinator.
A dedicated Hockey Mom (her twin sons play competitive U18 and her daughter competes in U13 hockey and volleyball) and staunch volunteer, Mylene has given back to the sporting and business community in the region for more than a decade.
She competed in various sports throughout her youth, the primary one being volleyball, where she’s won different competitions over the years and even competing in the eastern Canadian championships. She went on to coach tennis and volleyball (she continues to coach to this day with the JV volleyball team at PDJ).
Off the ice and away from the court, Mylène has a business degree from l’Université de Moncton and owner of Mylènium Consultants. She was the Executive Director of les Jeux de l’Acadie for over 10 years, and is the current President of the Chaleur Chamber of Commerce. She has won numerous accolades and awards over the years for her volunteering and involvement in the community and sports but is the last to talk about her achievements.
Marilyn Wilson: Billet Coordinator
Marilyn is a full time Hockey Mom and dedicated Billet Mom who has become an integral part of the Titan Family. You would be hard pressed not to see her at the rink, either cheering on both her two sons who play competitive hockey, or celebrating her Titan billet sons, at any given home game.
Marilyn – a financial service agent for Uni Cooperation Financial –made the decision five years ago to start billeting, and what began as billeting one Titan player, has now turned into billeting three players, each season.
She was named the 2023-24 Billet Coordinator, and has brought expertise, enthusiasm, and dedication to the role.
“Hockey is a big part of my life and living and enjoying every minute of it.”
Brooke Maclellan: Marketing Assistant
Brooke joined the Titan family at the end of the 2022-23 season as our summer student and is one of our Game Day Staff this year. In February she joined the team as a co-op student as our Marketing Assistant.
A hard worker and driven student athlete, Brooke has competed in volleyball for the past seven years, since first hitting the court in Grade 6 at Superior Middle School. In the past she competed for three years with Club Volleyball Chaleur and is now a middle on the varsity team at Bathurst High School.
Brooke – who will again take up her role as Titan Summer Intern this summer – will attend Holland College this fall to pursue a degree in Sports and Recreation Management.