Many community members and friends of the Harbison-Ruedisili family met at the Orono Ice Arena Saturday Feb. 10 to honor their late son Ben in the third annual Benergy Bash, organized by family friend Jodi Lewis. Offering team scrimmages and skating, both kids and adults laced up their skates to celebrate his memory by doing what he loved most: hockey.
Ben Ruedisili, the little brother of Orono junior Hanna Rose Harbison-Ruedisili, was a creative, confident and humorous young boy, according to parents Anne and Steve Harbison-Ruedisili. He lived and breathed hockey from a very young age, even sleeping with a miniature hockey stick at only 18 months old. On and off the ice, Ben lived a life full of loyalty to his friends and diligence to his passions.
The Benergy Bash started as an idea formed shortly after Ben passed away at the age of 9 in April of 2015 due to an infection in his throat. According to Lewis, it was evident at his memorial service that not only did Ben play hockey with many kids from schools such as Orono, Wayzata and Shakopee, but he loved to play with all of them.
“No matter if they were a Spartan or a Trojan, Ben loved them all the same,” Lewis said.
From that realization, Lewis knew that these kids were meant to play on the rink together to celebrate the same love that Ben had for them. After some planning and ice reservation plans starting in July of 2015, the Benergy Bash began to take shape into what it is today. Lewis, along with other mothers from the community such as Beth Anderson, Molly Setnicker, and Gina Hansen still serve three years later as the core organizing team, according to the Benergy Bash website.
“[Lewis] called me and told me that she was going to reserve some ice time to celebrate Ben … and I thought, ‘This is why you need a community,’” Anne Harbison said.
To recognize Ben’s character and community impact, around 50 middle and elementary school kids from around the metro area registered to play at this year’s Benergy Bash. The morning started with some encouraging words from Steve Ruedisili, along with some relay races, 4-on-4 scrimmages, penalty shot contests and the chuck-a-puck challenge, all followed with by a pizza lunch.
“I love watching these kids have fun doing what they love and what Ben loved,” Hanna Rose Harbison-Ruedisili said.
Ben created a new type of energy, nicknamed as “Benergy,” that is shared through the combination of community and fun that only elicits happiness, according to the Benergy Bash website. His life resembled a motto of being “All in, Everyday,” in every activity, according to Steve Ruedisili. No matter what life threw his way, Ben faced it with the same determination and strength.
Some changes to the Benergy Bash this year included the appearance of the Orono Boys’ Varsity Hockey team, as they aided in being mentors and players in the hockey scrimmages. Attendance was not as high as the past two years–80 and 70 kids, respectively–mainly due to the fact that most of the kids that were Ben’s age are now in middle school, according to Lewis. Also, this is the first year that the Benergy Bash was not held on Ben’s birthday, Dec. 5, as the Orono Ice Arena was needed for repair work during that time.
All proceeds from the Benergy Bash will go to the Orono Youth Hockey Association MITE program, according to the Benergy Bash informational flyer. Other ways that the community can support Ben’s legacy would be through a financial donation to the Ben Ruedisili Memorial Fund mailed to his school, Groves Academy.
Nevertheless, the community is encouraged by the Harbison-Ruedisili family to be intentional in every moment, be a force of energy and take part in the movement of being “A11 In.”