The Wallaceburg Sports Hall of Fame dinner and induction ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, January 27, 2018 at the UAW Hall in Wallaceburg.
Former Toronto Maple Leaf and Washington Capitol star, Al Iafrate, is set to be the guest speaker.
Tickets are available for the event from any Sports Hall of Fame member.
They are also available at Kim Murray Insurance on McNaughton Avenue in Wallaceburg.
The group recently announced their 2018 class of inductees.
The Marion and Bill Chinnick Memorial Award of Excellence Female Athlete inductee is Joanne Johnston. She was a multi-sport athlete at WDSS in the 80’s before starring on the St. Clair College women’s basketball team. She joins her dad Ken ‘Huck’ Johnston and brothers Dave and Andy Johnston in the Wallaceburg Sports Hall of Fame.
The Dan Bertrand Memorial Award of Excellence Male Athlete inductee is Earl Haggerty. Known for his great sportsmanship, Haggerty was a multi-sport athlete in the 60’s, competing in hockey, lacrosse, tennis, baseball and fastball in Wallaceburg.
The Ray Aarssen Memorial Award of Excellence Coach/Official inductee is Janine Day. The Sarnia Northern Secondary School and York University graduate has been the head coach of the girls basketball program at Wallaceburg District Secondary School since 2002. Day has led numerous teams to LKSSAA and SWOSSAA championships and has taken multiple trips to OFSAA.
The Mike Childs Memorial Award of Excellence Builder inductee is Steve Tooshkenig. The Walpole Island resident has been involved with golf since high school, getting his start at the former Baldoon Golf Club. He was instrumental in helping launch the Bkejwanong Youth Centre and he helps facilitate numerous opportunities for aboriginal athletes from Walpole Island.
The team inductee is the 1987 Wallaceburg Bantam Griffins Ontario ‘B’ lacrosse champions. The team, coached by Mike and Frank McGivern and Andy Stanley, had an unbeaten season and finished with an incredible record of 28-0.
The honourary chairman this year is retired WDSS principal, Rob Lee.
The group also announced the winners of their annual awards recently.
Taking home the honour of 2017 Athlete of the Year, is Shauney Fischer.
The former Wallaceburg Tartan finished her final year with the York University Lions women’s basketball team, where she finished with a career-high 10.1 points-per-game and 6.8 rebounds-per-game. Fischer is now attending the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto.
The winner of the 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award is going to Chloe Duffy. The Sombra-teenager had another successful year on the equestrian circuit, with her thoroughbred Oro Veradero.
The 2017 Coach of the Year is Jeff Byrne. He coached the Wallaceburg Airhawks Under 16 girls major midgets team to a provincial championship and the WDSS junior girls basketball team to a SWOSSAA ‘AA’ championship.
The 2017 Builder of the Year is Ben Hazzard, for his work organizing the annual St. Clair River Run. In 2017 over 800 runners took part in the annual event along the St. Clair River.
The winner of the 2017 Ray Aarssen Sports Hall of Fame Scholarship is Shaelyn Denys. She is currently enrolled in the kinesiology program at the University of Western Ontario. She participated in a variety of sports at WDSS, took home numerous awards and was also the president of the Student Athletic Association.
