More than 300 pay tribute to Olberz

A standing-room-only crowd filled the main ballroom Friday at the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club as more than 300 people paid tribute to Sport Chalet founder Norbert Olberz, who died of natural causes at the age of 86 a week prior.

After a photo slideshow of Olberz throughout the years and a rendition of “Ave Maria,” the crowd, packed with Sport Chalet employees past and present, heard speeches from Dennis Trausch and Craig Levra, current executive vice president and chief executive of Sport Chalet, respectively.

Trausch said he remembered Olberz as a hardworking entrepreneur with ambitions and the drive to bring them to fruition.