Inductee list announced for PSHOF

Posted By CHRISTINA BERNARDO

Posted 1 year ago

A hockey and tennis player as well as wrestling and volleyball coaches are among the nine inductees who will be inducted into the Penetanguishene Sports Hall of Fame later this year.

The hall of fame committee announced its 2009 inductees in the builders, athletes and teams categories.

John Gouett, Kevin Scott, Ken Desjardins and William "Bill" Hartman will be inducted in the builders category.

Russ Howard and his rinks -- the 1979-80 curling team, 1986-87 team and the 1992-93 team -- will be inducted in the team category.

Sports hall of fame's David Dupuis said the public entered 10 nominations by its May 31 deadline -- the highest number ever received.

"What was even more impressive was the quality and thoroughness of the packages submitted in support of their nominees, as some were truly outstanding, and gave the PSHOF committee great portraits of the nominees, and invaluable historical information about them and their sport's contribution. The nominators should be applauded for their fine efforts," he said.

The committee made two nominations on its own as well.

"The 2009 field of nominees were exceptional and indicate a rich, and varied array of sporting life, and accomplishments in, and from Penetanguishene."

The induction dinner and ceremony will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Brian Orser Hall.

Tickets will be available at the end of the summer.

"It promises to be a historical evening and tickets will be in great demand as seating will be limited with further details to follow," Dupuis concluded.

BUILDERS:

*John Gouett, nominated by Henry Bisschop, was born in Toronto, but moved to Penetanguishene at a young age. In 1967, he was instrumental in founding his first oldtimers hockey team, the Penetanguishene Centennial Oldtimers, who would go on to tour Ontario. In 1974, he

established the Canadian Oldtimers Hockey Association, which he quickly expanded into an international movement by organizing oldtimers tournaments all over the globe. He is known as the founder of oldtimers hockey.

*Kevin Scott, nominated by Scott Hartman, taught at Penetanguishene Secondary School between 1986 and 2001, and became instrumental in establishing PSS as a wrestling powerhouse. His 13-year wrestling program produced a vast array of local and provincial champions that put PSS and the town on the

wrestling map. His impact on the sport and the students under his tutelage is exemplified by the many graduates of his program who went on to excel in their sport at the college, university and international levels. All credit Scott for their success.

*William "Bill" Hartman, nominated by Kathy Adamson, taught and coached volleyball at PSS for 22 years. He was instrumental in making PSS a powerhouse in boy's and girl's volleyball, with his teams winning countless medals locally and provincially between 1986 and 2008.

They include 14 GBSSA championships, 15 OFSSA appearances and four OFSSA medals of which the highest was a girl's senior silver medal in 2007. Hartman was also instrumental in establishing a local beach volleyball club in Midland.

*Ken Desjardins, nominated by Steven Gauthier, has been teaching karate in Penetanguishene for more than 14 years, establishing his Shito-Kai Karate Dojo karate club in 1995. Desjardins has been an inspiration to his many students locally, which culminated when three of his Penetanguishene students received their black belts in competitions held in Monterrey, Mexico in 2004. His students have participated and won countless medals at competitions provincially, nationally, and internationally. A fourth degree black belt himself, Desjardins has also been a coach for Canadian teams at international competitions.

ATHLETES:

*Elizabeth "Liz" Duval, nominated by Annette Duval, began playing hockey at the age of 10. She played women's hockey locally before enrolling and playing on the women's varsity Gryphon's team at the University of Guelph.

As captain for three years, she led the Gryphons in scoring. They would win the Ontario OWIAA championship in 1994-95.As the team's MVP, Duval was a finalist that year for the university's Sportswoman of the Year Award. She also starred with the Mississauga Chiefs of the Central Ontario Women's Hockey League between 1994 and 2000, and scored the overtime winner in 1996 to lead the Chiefs to the Ontario Senior AA Women's hockey title.

*Brian Dubeau, nominated by John Dubeau, was a

tennis prodigy from the town's growing tennis scene in the late 1950s. In 1958, the 14-year-old stunned the provincial tennis world by powering his way to the Toronto

Telegram Provincial tennis finals where he disappointingly lost. He put the experience to good use though and returned the next year, incidentally by hitchhiking a ride. Showing grit and determination, Dubeau won the 1959 Junior Boys Toronto Telegram provincial title with powerful serves and overhead smashes that had him the talk of the town and the province's sports pages.

TEAMS:

*1979-80 Russ Howard Curling Team, nominated by PSHOF, the Penetanguishene team consisted of skip Russ Howard, second Larry Merkley, third Bob Ruston and lead Kent Carstairs. They won the local play-downs and then advanced to and won the Ontario Tankard Championship. Representing the province at the Brier in Calgary, Alberta, they lost in a deciding playoff game against the eventual winner Rick Folk of Saskatchewan, but it put Penetanguishene on the Canadian curling map, a place it would stay for the next decade and beyond.

*1986-87 Russ Howard Curling Team, nominated by PSHOF, the team consisted of skip Russ Howard, second Glenn Howard, third Tim Belcourt, lead Kent Carstairs and fifth Larry Merkley. They were the Ontario Tankard Champions and then advanced to and won the Canadian Briar Championship in Edmonton, Alberta. Their year culminated when they next won the World Curling Championship, beating West Germany at BC Place in Vancouver.

*1992-93 Russ Howard Curling Team, nominated by Paul Stack, the team consisted of skip Russ Howard, second Glenn Howard, third Wayne Middaugh, lead Peter Corner and fifth Larry Merkley. They had another stellar year when they won the Ontario Tankard, the Canadian Briar and the World Curling championships. The team also won the Player's Invitational and the TSN Skin's championships.