Biographies for our Candidates

Candidates for Vice President of Business Operations

Paul Bischoff

Vice President of Business Operations

If you take into consideration my passion for youth hockey and my professional experience as a CPA and business owner, I believe I would be an asset to the Richmond Royals’ Board of Directors.   My biggest goal is to help grow hockey in Richmond.  During the past 5 years of my oldest son’s hockey experience, I have witnessed the decline of hockey in the squirt and mite levels.  I want to help create opportunities for kids, at all levels of skating ability and at the same time decrease the cost of hockey during these difficult economic times.  I believe if we can get kids hooked on hockey at the mite and squirt levels we will have lifelong hockey players. 

As the Vice President of Fixed Operations at Haley Automotive, Inc, I am responsible for the day to day operations of six dealerships.  This includes negotiating and signing contracts, preparing and reviewing monthly budgets, analyzing income and expenses, managing policies and procedures and cultivating vendor/customer relationships. In addition to my analytical skills, I am strong consistent leader, with the ability to listen to all the opinions and facts in order to resolve the issue. 

My life motto is LPF, listen to your coaches, play hard, and have FUN.  If given the opportunity to serve on the board, I will do all that I can to grow hockey in Richmond and bring LPF to the Richmond Royals.

Bill Harris

Vice President of Business Operations

Bill Harris, Department Supervisor at Alstom Power and owner of the Skate Shack. Bill has been involved with hockey for the last 9 or 10 years. He has worked with several hockey clubs in the past including the Richmond Royals. He has held several positions including; team manager, assistant coach, scheduler, Secretary, President and Major sponsor. Bill lives in Chesterfield Virginia with his wife and 3 kids and 2 dogs. You can always find Bill at the rink working at his shop or taking in a hockey game.

Vice President of Fundraising/Marketing

Nancy O’Reilly

Vice President of Fundraising/Marketing

Nancy O’Reilly is the proud mother of 3 wonderful children, one of whom has been playing hockey for almost 10 years. Sean has played goalie for 5 seasons with the Royals organization, and is currently on the Bantam A team.  Neither older sister Kaity (a sophomore at Atlee High) nor younger sister Lauren (in 4^th grade at Pearson’s Corner Elementary) share the passion for hockey but they can frequently be seen cheering at rinkside and enjoying hanging out with other siblings.

When not at the rink, Nancy can be found working as a nurse at Virginia Women’s Center or helping husband Pat out at The Ozone, an after-school program for middle school kids and indoor recreation facility in Hanover County.  Previous to working as a nurse, Nancy worked in fundraising at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland.

Nancy looks forward to the opportunity to serve on this board because being a Richmond Royal has been a significant part of our son’s life, and our family’s.

Tracey McClung

Vice President of Fundraising/Marketing

CBHL Representative

Don Koszelak

CBHL Rep

I am the father of 3 boys, Ben 12, Nick 11 and Jake 7.  I have been involved with coaching youth sports for the past 8 years.  I have coached my children in soccer, baseball, basketball, football and in-line hockey, travel and recreational, and have served as a member of the Atlee Little League Board of Directors in the past.  We are currently in our second year in the Royals organization, with Ben and Nick playing for the Pewee Select Team last year and this year on the Pewee A Team.  I am interested in becoming a Board member in order to help grow the organization, especially at the Mite and Squirt ages.  I currently work for the Department of the Navy in the DC area and therefore would like to be the CBHL representative for the Royals.

Joe Zielinski

CBHL Rep

I have been involved with the Richmond Royals organization for the last six years.  My oldest son, Joey, played with the Royals for four years (through Bantam) and my younger son, Jack, currently plays at the Bantam level, but started as a Mite and has skated in a Royals sweater for six years.  I am currently serving as the CBHL representative, having assumed the duties at the beginning of the season.  In addition to maintaining a good working relationship with other CBHL organizations, I have worked hard to expand the presence of the Richmond Royals within the CBHL footprint.  Of note, we were able, for the first time in club history, to secure two age group boys’ league play-offs at the Richmond rinks.  Also, our proposal to adopt a best-of-three home/away play-off for national bound teams was adopted by league this year.

I have a balanced perspective of the Royals organization, having had children play at all age-group levels.  My primary goals for the coming year are to: 

• Support the growth of youth hockey in the Richmond area using all resources available to the organization;
• Make hockey more affordable for the youngest age groups, allowing a more seamless transition from developmental and house programs to travel hockey; and
• Support the American Developmental Model put forth by USA Hockey for the youngest age groups, which include less travel, more ice time and cross-ice play for the youngest age groups.

During the day, I work as a Sr. Sales Representative for RR Donnelley, serving the investment banking, corporate, municipal and legal communities.  I also helped start and have a management role in the Sports Backers Marathon Training Team program, coach long distance runners, and serve as the editor of the Richmond Road Runners Club monthly magazine, Miles and Minutes.  I enjoy running, cycling and working the penalty box at the rink!