The Dark Clouds are celebrating their 15th Annual End of Year Awards and Charity Auction on Monday, November 5th at La Doña Cervecería.

The celebration–which honors players, members of the MNUFC community, and the volunteers that make the Dark Clouds possible–consists of two main events;

1. Charity Auction – We auction off pieces of memorabilia, and Minnesota soccer related oddities donated by Dark Clouds members, people from the Minnesota soccer community and from our partners. If you’re interested in donating an item, please contact us at info@dark-clouds.com . If you donate an item as an organization, we’re happy to feature your donation on social media. Proceeds from the charity auction will benefit our longtime friends and partners, The Sanneh Foundation.

2. Awards – Every year, the Dark Clouds give awards to people and players who have made an impact in our world. While voting has closed for this season, we hope you join us to honor the winners. The awards categories and previous winners can be found at the end of the article.

The party kicks off at 6:00pm, with the silent auction beginning at 7:00pm. Once the auction closes at 9:00pm, we’ll give out the awards

DETAILS AT A GLANCE:

WHO: Dark Clouds and Friends

WHAT: 15th Annual Dark Clouds End of Year Awards and Charity Auction

WHERE: La Doña Cervecería | 241 Fremont Ave N, Minneapolis

WHEN: Monday, November 5th | 6:00-10:00pm

Previous Award Winners

Player of the Year:

2004 – Dustin Branan

2005 – Freddy Juarez

2006 – Matt Schmidt

2007 – Nic Platter

2008 – Nic Platter

2009 – Nic Platter

2010 – Andres Arango

2011 – Kyle Altman

2012 – Matt VanOekel

2013 – Pablo Campos

2014 – Miguel Ibarra

2015 – Justin Davis

2016 – Christian Ramirez

2017 – Bobby Shuttleworth

Newcomer of the Year:

2004 – Jay Alberts

2005 – Nate Knox

2006 – Alfredo Esteves

2007 – Brian Farber

2008 – Ricardo Sanchez

2009 – Lawrence Olum

2010 – Simone Bracalello

2011 – Justin Davis

2012 – Miguel Ibarra

2013 – Calum Mallace

2014 – Christian Ramirez

2015 – Sammy Ndjock

2016 – Jeb Brovsky

2017 – Jerome Thiesson

Buzz Lagos Award (presented to individual (club or community) for lifetime achievement

2005 – Buzz Lagos (Namesake, original coach and leader of the Minnesota Thunder)

2007 – Liz Schorn (Thunder team trainer and photographer)

2009 – Claude Duran (Thunder team mascot, Thor)

2010- Manny Lagos (Original player, former coach and now club administrator)

2012 – Chris Lidholm (Broadcasting voice of the Minnesota Thunder, Stars, United)

2013 – Kevin Friedland (Player and man of one thousand hats that kept the team going thru many lean years)

2014 – Dan Barnes (Owner of original USL Discussion Boards, fan community in the early days)

2016 – Angie Blaker (Team Operations)

2017 – Brian Quarstad (Inside Minnesota Soccer)

Jackass of the Year (presented to Dark Cloud Supporter of the Year)

2005 – Keith Kramer

2007 – Kevin Joseph

2008 – Neal Logan

2009 – Tim “SuperRookie” Hayes

2010 – Scott Kerssen

2011 – Anthony de Sam Lazaro

2012 – David Smith

2013 – Ben Pfutzenreuter (Arts and Crafts); Wes Burdine (Discourse); Tim Alexander

2014 – Nachiket Karnik and Doreen Hartzell

2015 – Abe Opoti

2016 – Rich Harrison, Teresa Peterson, Sam Solberg

2017 – Jim Oliver

Misc:

2008 – Kevin Friedland – Humanitarian/Man of the Year

Iron Skillet Award: (presented by Dark Cloud leadership to a member who have fixed or improved organization)

2014 – Brandon Maurisak

2015 – Jeff Rueter & Jake Rueter

2016 – Nachiket Karnik (Nach)

2017 – Ben Krouse Gagne and Phil Cross

Tom Donovan Award: (presented to Dark Cloud traveler of the year as selected by Travel Committee Chair)

2017 – Andrew Lovgren