It was an evening to be proud as the community came together to honour and welcome four new members to the Huntsville Sports Hall of Fame. Previously inducted members, Hall of Fame executive, the mayor and many community supporters smiled, clapped and cheered as one-by-one Don Thompson, John Cowan, Kenneth Donald and Jon Burnside took to the podium to be recognized for their relentless support of sport in Huntsville.
Huntsville native Don Thompson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the coaching category. Thompson was a trainer for the Midget Northern Zone Champions in 1957, manager for the OMLA Pee Wee “A” champions in 1961, team member of the OLA Intermediate “A” Champions in 1961 and coaching and or assistant coaching the Jr. Hawk Lacrosse teams in 1965 and 1966. He was also part of the winning Oldtimers Hockey team in the 1970s.
His daughter Jennifer who was at the podium with her father said she was proud of him and the great example he was for her. “I want to thank the Sports Hall of Fame for recognizing his contribution to Huntsville sport.”
The other three recipients were in the builder category. John Cowan was recognized for Community and Academic Athletics; Kenneth Donald and John Burnside for Soccer.
Cowan has taught at Huntsville High School since 1992. He led eight of ten teams to OFSAA championships in 2011, a record that many think will stand for some time.
I have been fortunate to work with so many talented athletes and coaches. We have a healthy active community with so many dedicated volunteers, making it a great place to live.John Cowan on accepting his award
He praised past councils and other officials for their role in promoting sports tourism saying we must continue to support those programs.
Kenneth Donald and Jon Burnside were recognized for their role in the growth of soccer in Huntsville.
Donald joked about how he fell into the role 20 years ago and to this day is not a very good player. He started with the Huntsville Soccer Club as a coach in its first year and with the club executive in its second year. Since then the club has grown from 200 to over 1000 registered players.
Burnside was also a prime organizer of the club’s success. He developed a strong house league program and was instrumental in the development of the soccer fields at McCulley-Robertson park.
We coaxed, cajoled, harassed, and we asked anyone who would listen to us about what the soccer club needed. Jon did most of the harassing, I did the spreadsheets.Kenneth Donald on developing Huntsville’s soccer program
Both Donald and Burnside said it wasn’t about what they had done but the hundreds of volunteers who have made Huntsville a much recognized soccer town.
Chairperson Wendy McConnell told the audience that the committee has been successful in obtaining a grant that will enable them to give the Inductee board at the Summit Centre a fresh look in a better location. She said the mayor has also promised support to make those improvements happen smoothly.
Read about the recipients of the Jan Glenn Memorial Award and the Mike Greaves Memorial Award, which are given to the male and female sports persons of the year, here.
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