Friendly Encounters

This is a regular series featuring friends who have met celebs.

Joel Quenneville made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1978-79 season.  During that same time period, Mary Jovanovich and I were part of the Sacred Heart 8th grade class.  In today's Friendly Encounters, those two events intersect in a way.
Quenneville went on to have a successful 13 year playing career and is currently in his 14th season of coaching in the NHL.  He will forever be loved in Chicago for guiding the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup win in 20 years.
Mary and I went to different high schools and lost contact sometime during our college years.  A while back we reconnected on Facebook and I learned that she was married with two children.  I also learned they are huge fans of the Blackhawks.  They attend many games and somehow have met several players.  (I just have to know her secret).
I always love posting Mary here.  It's like going back in time.  Hopefully, other Sacred Heart mates will appear here in the future.

Mary Jovanovich Brazzale and Joel Quenneville in Chicago, IL-Early 2011.

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly series featuring friends who have met celebs.

When we last saw my old Sacred Heart classmate Mary Jovanovich Brazzale, she was posing with Bill Wennington (a former Bull who was wearing a Blackhawks jersey).  Mary went from posing with an NBA champion to posing with an NHL champ when she got a picture with Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks.
Mary and her family are huge Blackhawks fans.  If she isn't at the game, she is probably watching it somewhere.
I always enjoy Mary's Blackhawks-related posts on Facebook.  Hopefully, in a few weeks, she will be posting another picture of her husband with the Stanley Cup, like she did last year.
I also always enjoy pictures from my old classmates.  I am hoping for more classmates to appear here, but I am pretty sure that Mary will make more appearances.  She seems to meet a lot of the players.  What is her secret?  Even with my press passes, I have a hard time meeting as many players.

 Mary Jovanovich Brazzale and Jonathan Toews in Chicago, IL-Early 2011.

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly feature highlighting friends who have met celebs.

Today is a very special Friendly Encounters.  It features one of my classmates through 8 years at Sacred Heart school.  Back then, she was Mary Jovanovich.  Now she is Mary Brazzale, mother of two teenagers.
Mary was Class President in 8th grade and voted "Most Athletic" by our class.  She was well-liked by all and was funny, friendly, smart and everything you'd want in a classmate friend.
We went to different high schools, but I would see her around the neighborhood occasionally.  Unfortunately after high school, I lost track of most of my Sacred Heart classmates, including Mary.
A few months back, several of us reconnected on Facebook.  It was great to see Mary and her family. 
Mary and her family are big Hawks fans (her husband got to hold the Stanley Cup!).  At one of the games last season, Mary ran into Bill Wennington (who won some titles with the Chicago Bulls a few years back).  Mary was gracious enough to share the photo here.
I appreciate Mary sharing her photo here.  I can't believe so much time passed, but I am happy to see that Mary is doing well.

Mary Jovanovich Brazzale and Bill Wennington in Chicago, IL-May 2010.