1979 Apollo High School graduate, Joe Meierhofer, looks back fondly on high school and his career, saying his involvement in athletics at Apollo became the driving force behind his 28-year career.
“I was a three sport athlete,” he says.
Meierhofer attended St. Cloud State University (SCSU) after high school to play baseball for the Huskies. While attending college, he worked at the Sports Center (now Municipal Athletic Complex, a.k.a The MAC) in the ice arena and at Dick Putz stadium field. As a college sophomore, he also owned a company called Multiple Maintenance, a labor company that contracted with the city of St. Cloud and grew to 45 employees. He was working full-time, carrying a full class load and playing ball. In 1987, he sold his company and took a position with the city of St. Cloud as the assistant manager of the MAC. Two years later, life changed in an unexpected and amazing way.
The National Hockey Center (NHC) at SCSU was brand new and looking for its first director. Active in the Minnesota Ice Managers Association, Meierhofer knew plenty of people who had applied for the position, but he didn’t feel he had a chance at the job, so he didn’t apply.
Then he got a call from Craig Dahl, former SCSU men’s hockey coach.
“So, Craig calls me and tells me, ‘Herbie told me to call you … Why haven’t you applied?'” laughs Meierhofer.
Herbie, of course, is the famous “Miracle on Ice” USA Olympic Hockey Coach, Herb Brooks.
Still not confident, Meierhofer threw his name in the hat. He went to the interview really “loose and happy” because he didn’t think he stood a chance. He made one promise in that interview: to never let the NHC get old.
Meierhofer became the first director of the National Hockey Center and lived that promise for 28 years.
“I got over there on the first of October in 1989,” reflects Meierhofer. “We opened up on December 16, 1989 against Northern Michigan. That two and a half months was a whirlwind. The building wasn’t done yet. We were still sweeping the building a half-hour before we opened the doors for the first game ever … It was pretty stressful.”
What Meierhofer really loved about the job was the excitement and adrenaline rush of game night. As news trucks rolled up, ushers, concessions and ticket workers, as well as security, were put in place. It was always a sprint to the finish line.
Keeping his promise by overseeing the remodel and transformation of the NHC to the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in 2013, when Meierhofer retired in 2018, he celebrated in a state-of-the art facility.
“I lived my promise every day,” Meierhofer reflects. “I still miss it.”
But the sports world wasn’t finished with him yet. He was recruited the day of his retirement by RHL Inc., a local marketing company. Only Meierhofer wasn’t ready to move on to another job; he wanted some down time. That didn’t last long.
Instead, Meierhofer found himself on a plane to South Korea for the Olympics, truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“I spent two months at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea as an ice technician for figure skating and short track speed skating.”
He worked two sites, the Gangneung Ice Arena, with the short track for speed skating and figure skating, and the Yeongdong Ice Arena, which housed the short track speed skating practices.
The time spent in South Korea was a whirlwind with long days. It wasn’t the typical retirement job. After the Olympics in 2018, Meierhofer finally got his downtime, including an island vacation with his wife Deb (a Tech grad) in celebration of their 35th anniversary.
A full year after his retirement. Meierhofer followed up with RHL. He now works with high schools and universities selling and installing digital scoreboards for the company.
Even in “retirement,” Meierhofer tributes his career back to his athletic opportunities at Apollo High School. As his next chapter continues, he looks back at his previous career and life with gratitude for St. Cloud Area School District.
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