During the last home game, the Blue Jackets honored first responders in the central Ohio community for the brave work they do for the people of Columbus.
Among those recognized was Dani Renza, a familiar face within the Blue Jackets organization and at Nationwide Arena.
Renza can now often be seen as an on-site police officer for CBJ home games, but before that, she spent multiple seasons on the Performance Columbus Ice Crew at games.
Both jobs have provided an up-close and personal view of the sport of hockey, one she’s spent a major portion of her life around.
“Now I see a different side of things with the missing kids, or if a child wanders away, or someone who has a medical emergency, or anything like that,” Renza said. “That's incredibly rewarding to get that person the assistance they need. You were that safe face that someone saw.”
Originally a native of Vermont, she grew up feeling somewhat detached from the sport in a state with no pro teams, but after joining the ice crew – which is responsible for in-game maintenance of the playing surface, including shoveling snow during media timeouts – she was given an opportunity to be a part of the organization.
“The experience has been pretty incredible,” she said. “Growing up in Vermont, I didn't have access to a lot of NHL teams. Everything was super far away, so I had never really gotten that exposure that I think people in Columbus have access to. Not only being at the games, but seeing them on such a cool level, on that ground level at ice level, was pretty next level.”
Renza, who was on the ice crew for five years after starting in 2019, was also in the police academy during that time.
“(The Blue Jackets) were very understanding and flexible with supporting me and my goal, and that's not always common,” Renza said.
Although her schedule was constantly full between the two jobs, she said that type of environment is something she loves.
“You almost thrive in that busy environment. When you take it away, it feels like you're missing something,” Renza said, who is now a member of the Columbus Division of Police. “I'm very lucky to be able to continue being involved in uniform.”
On top of being on duty for the First Responders Night game Nov. 2, she also played in a hockey game between Columbus police and fire officers and CBJ alumni earlier in the day. The contest featured such CBJ legends as Rick Nash, R.J. Umberger and Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, which provided a unique experience for the first responders.
“I think sometimes we get starstruck a little bit,” Renza said. “The amount of skill that they have is pretty dumbfounding sometimes. I think Rick Nash dangled me one or two times. I wasn’t even mad.”
