Jack Vissar is the equipment manager for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program. He always tossed broken hockey sticks in the trash. Then, he found a new use for smashed and shattered twigs.

That new life for old sticks was created by John Ufland and Eric Bourgoujian. They were tired of watching players and equipment guys such as Jack toss expensive broken carbon hockey sticks into the trash bin. They wondered if the sticks could be reused in some way, leading them to create Requip’d. The organization partnered with teams and manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada to not simply recycle but to upcycle old sticks to create barbeque sets.

Once this idea recorded winning goals, John and Eric added bottle openers, snow brushes, plungers and a goalie paddle ring toss game to the product line. Requip’d repurposed more than 100,000 sticks. The organization worked with USA Hockey plus the NHL, AHL, ECHL and the NCAA. About a year ago, the guys sold the operation to ABLE Force (Richboro, Pennsylvania), a nonprofit that employs adults with special needs. The game plan did not change for the used sticks. The mission is to continue to repurpose tossed hockey sticks into unique items.

The partnership between the organization, which provides employees with meaningful jobs, and the leagues is a win-win. USA Hockey’s program initially prevented almost 600 sticks from filling landfills. Now, the number has risen to about 5,000. Add that number to the countless additions made by the college and pro leagues.

So, if you’re looking for a unique holiday gift for that hockey player or fan, get into the game and pick up an item upcycled from a used hockey stick.

Pat Tillman was born on November 6 in Fremont, California. The oldest of three sons, he matured into a star athlete and a better person.

Pat was awarded a football scholarship to Arizona State University. He was selected 1997 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and ASU’s MVP. Pat graduated with a marketing degree in less than four years with a 3.85 GPA.  The Arizona Cardinals drafted him and he became an All-Pro safety.

Pat, whose great-grandfather served at Pearl Harbor, was deeply affected by 9/11. During an interview, he said, “I play football, and it just seems so goddamn unimportant compared to everything that has taken place.”

Following the 2001 season, Pat declined a $3.6 million three-year contract with the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army with his brother, Kevin, who declined an offer to play baseball for the Cleveland Indians. Pat married his high school sweetheart, Marie, before exchanging his football jersey for a military uniform.

The brothers completed training as Army Rangers and Pat was deployed for the initial invasion of Iraq during September 2003. Both brothers later were deployed to Afghanistan. On April 22, 2004, Kevin was in a convoy behind his brother when Pat was killed by friendly fire while on patrol in Spera, Khost Province, Afghanistan.

Pat had prepared a “just in case” letter for Marie that included, in part, “Through the years, I’ve asked a great deal of you. Therefore it should surprise you little that I have another favor to ask. I ask that you live.’’ Pat Tillman was 27 years old. He would have celebrated his 45th birthday this month.

Marie eventually remarried and is a mother of five children. A decade following Pat’s death, she established the Pat Tillman Foundation that provides scholarships for veterans and their spouses.

“Loss is not just something that happens,” said Marie. “It really becomes a part of you and I feel like I have learned so much…and it really has made me more conscious of life and how I want to spend mine and really making the most of it.”