Honouring the Past and Inspiring the Future, with Thanks to You

December 19, 2024

From our Chair, Tom Mayenknecht

This week has been another reminder that the calendar of sport history rarely – if ever – takes a day off. We have come to realize that almost every day is a day to build and strengthen our sport heritage and culture in British Columbia; by honouring the past and inspiring the future. Each day is another opportunity to engage all of us, especially the next generation of young British Columbians and Canadians that will make headlines in the weeks, months and years to come.

The week began with sad news on Sunday, with the passing of Al Raine after a courageous battle with ALS. At the age of 83, he leaves behind his two sons Charley and Willy and wife – the one and only Nancy Greene Raine, who reigned the world of women’s skiing in the late 1960s and who’s outstanding 1968 (including the Grenoble 1968 Winter Olympics) was one of the reasons she became such an inspirational Honoured Member of the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 1969.

Al’s passing also leaves behind a legacy of coaching, leadership and innovation that truly elevated the sport of skiing and the snow sports industry. We are so grateful that we were able to present Al and his wife Nancy our Lifetime Leadership & Service Award, in person in September at the Kamloops 2024 Annual Summit of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

In a week in which the WNBA announced a regular season game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver — the first-ever in B.C. with the Seattle Storm meeting the Atlanta Dream on August 15th, 2025 — we were reminded of the late Dr. Jack Taunton, who among his many passions and projects in sport science and sport medicine, not to mention the larger sport community, was heavily advocating for the WNBA in British Columbia. That’s more inspiration from Dr. Jack, who was literally creating, building and promoting until the day he died. That’s yet another cue from Dr. Jack for all of us to strive to make a difference and build an even stronger B.C. sport community. In that way, we honour Dr. Jack and make the most of his legacy in the years to come.

And finally, it was a week in which Terry Fox was confirmed as the brilliant canvas and focal point for the new $5 Canadian bill. In what is a beautiful win-win in which the “Fox Five” will begin circulation in the coming year and former Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier will move up to the new $50 bill, the news is arguably the single biggest-ever acknowledgment of the breadth, scope and inspirational impact of the Terry Fox legacy. That will not only benefit the Terry Fox Foundation, the Terry Fox Centre, the Terry Fox Research Institute and the Marathon of Hope Cancer Care Network here in B.C. and across Canada, it will honour – every day – his athletic achievement of 143 marathons on consecutive days in 1980. That in turn will ensure his legacy continues to transcend sport into cancer research and fund-raising, both domestically and around the world.

With each of these three special British Columbians – Terry Fox, Dr. Jack Taunton and Al Raine – very much in our thoughts this week, the BC Sports Hall of Fame did what it aims to do each and every day. Whether it was by social media post, email messaging, media release or this Inspirations e-newsletter, we did our part to tell their stories, and to do so with the commitment to excellence that allows us to honour the past and inspire the future. Like all our Honoured Members, they deserve nothing less.

Yet the other reminder is that we can’t do what we do without you. The BC Sports Hall of Fame is only as strong as our network of supporters and the resultant footprint that we have on the British Columbia sporting landscape.

First and foremost, we are ALL about our Honoured Members. You are the heart and soul of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Period.

Yet we can’t do it without our Nominators, those who are moved to submit nominations for consideration as the next Class of Honoured Members in any given year. The stronger and greater the number — and the more inclusive are our nominations – the more inspirational each class will be. Thanks to all of you who nominated this past year and over the years and thanks to those of you who will submit new nominations on or before June 30th, 2025.

Thanks to our Selectors, officially known as the members of our Selection Committee. This dynamic cross-section of Honoured Members, media and community leaders/Trustees invests considerable time in ensuring that the best of the best are presented as our new class, each and every year.

We can’t do it without the BC Sports Hall of Fame Foundation and its Board of Directors. Thanks to each and every one of you for your stewardship of our legacy fund, one which this year crossed the $2.7M threshold and which – thanks to our combined efforts – will help ensure the long-term sustainability of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Our planned giving campaign to help build the legacy fund to our first major milestone of $5M will only grow in the years to come thanks to those who believe in the power of sport and the inspiration of sport history, heritage and culture.

We can’t do it without our donors. No matter how small or how large your donation, you are making an impact, one that will be paid forward not the future for generations to come. We appreciate those of you who contribute every year – often more than once – and we welcome those of you who will make their first donation(s) this year.

Thanks also to our Council of Chairs, the group of former Chairs of the BC Sports Hall of Fame who care so much about the Hall that they continue to support our best efforts to this day. We don’t take your wisdom and counsel for granted – not to mention your advocacy of our new In Memoriam Tribute Table campaign.

Thanks to our Trustees, the community, business and sport leaders who work together to govern the Sports Hall and our growing BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum Society. Without your strategic counsel, leadership and dedication to the cause of inspiring the future, we would not have the same capacity to navigate through the ups and downs of the marketplace nor be able to envision the future growth that we see. Thanks not only to our Trustees, but our Committee members across Finance & Audit, Governance & Planning, Special Events, Revenue Generation & Partnerships, Galleries and more. We couldn’t do any of this – from our Banquet of Champions to our Annual Summit – without you. Thanks also to our Honourary Trustees, who exemplify the best of the best in BC sport, business and life.

We couldn’t do it without the emerging BC Sports Hall Network, the group of more than 40 local, regional and sport-specific Halls of Fame that are coming together to share best practices and information and to collaborate at the grassroots of sport history, heritage and culture. With your ongoing support and strength of leadership in your own communities, you’ll help us grow the BC Sports Hall Network into one that one day will have more than 100 local halls covering every corner of the province of British Columbia. And with more strength and capacity locally, we’ll be stronger provincially.

Thanks to those professionals in our media community. Whether you connect with sport history, heritage and culture in print/digital, radio, television or social, you make a difference on the strength of your own take on the athletes, coaches, builders, pioneers and teams who have made the BC sport community what it is, one of the strongest in North America. Every story you tell will inspire another group of young British Columbians in the years to come.

Thanks to our community and business partners, including the new tranche of corporate sponsors who will help us as we launch new partnership and investment opportunities in 2025 and beyond, especially in the lead up to Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 and the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Multi-platform support from leading brands and corporations and small to midsize businesses will help define a new future for the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

We also couldn’t do it without the sport sector that we serve as your go-to storytellers throughout the year. That includes the Government of British Columbia, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture & Sport (welcome aboard Spencer Chandra Herbert as the new Minister) and viaSport, along with Canadian Heritage and the Government of Canada.

It also includes all multi-sport organizations, including Sport BC, KidSport, BC Women & Sport, ISPARC, the BC Games Society, the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, SportMedBC and BC School Sports. Moreover, we couldn’t do what we do without the Provincial Sport Organizations (PSOs) and Local Sports Organizations (LSOs) who govern and manage their respective sports year-round – to those who have sport-specific Halls, congratulations and thank you. To those of you thinking of launching a new Sports Hall in your sport, call us and we’ll work to get you part of the BC Sports Hall Network.

We certainly couldn’t do it without our other key partners and teammates in the promotion of sport history, heritage and culture, including our friends at BC Place and BC Pavilion Corp (PavCo).

Yet our boldest ambitions and growth strategies are only realized and made possible on the strength and passion of our lean, mean staff and management team. Thank you for everything that is done under the day-to-day leadership of our CEO Michelle Kitchen, curator Jason Beck and our staff, both year-round and seasonal. We appreciate your daily efforts on behalf of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. It’s an appreciation that goes 24/7 but is especially poignant and meaningful as we celebrate the end of one year and the ushering in of a New Year of challenges and opportunities.

Best of the season to you and yours, on behalf of all of us at the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

Tom Mayenknecht

Chair, BC Sports Hall of Fame

Tom Mayenknecht is the Chair of the BC Sports Hall of Fame. A principal at Emblematica Brand Builders in Vancouver and a nationally recognized sport business commentator and founder and host of The Sport Market on Sportsnet 650 and the Sportsnet Radio Network, he is a strong advocate for KidSport, Right To Play and other children’s charities, including the Sports Hall’s own Hero in You programs. He is also a member of the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame as a builder and founding Chair of the Paul Carson Sports Broadcast & Media Awards.