Board of Directors 2021 - Drew Todd (Vice-President), Joe Yaworski (President), Glenn Turner, Martha Gleeson, Neel Bhatt, Kelly Guard (Treasurer), Rod McLachlan, Linda Lipari, Uwe Samstag-Schnock (Secretary), Greg Ollerenshaw, Bob (Pie) Lee
In 2014, a groundswell of community interest in creating and developing a hall of fame to recognize and celebrate sports history in Milton arose, leading to a series of information and recruitment meetings that were held that year at the Milton Sports Center. With over 150 years of accomplishments by various athletes, teams and sports builders, Milton community leaders and volunteers identified a sizable need for a unique and standalone vehicle to spotlight the town’s sports legacy.
On November 3, 2014, The Milton Sports Hall of Fame (MSHOF) Committee was formally created to lay the groundwork that would lead to an inaugural induction class, identifying the need to establish induction criteria, fundraise, solicit nomination applications, select an initial class of inductees, and plan and execute an outstanding, high-level inaugural induction ceremony. A publicly accessible wall of fame to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of inductees was also determined to be a prerequisite for a successful hall of fame and was made a priority project.
On March 10, 2016, the MSHOF was incorporated with an initial 13 members including Joe Yaworski, Drew Todd, Don Crowder, Kelly Guard, Sam Kirkland, Glenn Turner, Martha Gleeson, Steve Dykstra, Steve LeBlanc, Wil Angquiangco, Uwe Samstag-Schnock, Bob Lee and Rod McLachlan. This initial group was largely comprised of volunteers with diverse backgrounds in various Milton sports organizations such as football, figure skating, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey, as well as legal, municipal and sports media representation.
As an independent, community-led non-profit, the MSHOF continues a beneficial and valuable arms-length relationship with the Town of Milton to this day. However, the MSHOF operates as a fully independent, volunteer-driven entity, determining nomination criteria, and ultimately selecting inductees from a pool of community-submitted applications.
The MSHOF held its inaugural induction ceremony in November 2016, inducting four individuals and one team, in a special red-carpet event at the Milton Sports Centre. Five additional inductees have been selected and feted by the MSHOF board of directors in each subsequent year.
A MSHOF Wall of Fame was constructed and unveiled at the initial 2016 ceremony, and included a touchscreen with inductee information and tribute videos produced by Cogeco TV, as well as a display case that holds various inductee memorabilia and artifacts for public viewing, such as four-time Stanley Cup winner John Tonelli’s New York Islanders jersey. The Wall is updated and refreshed annually to both honour past inductees and to welcome each year’s new induction class.
In 2019, the MSHOF board – spearheaded by Greg Ollerenshaw and others – developed and created a “Journey to the Hall” multi-sport, annual summer camp for local youth to provide fun, educational sports development to motivated athletes and future sports leaders. The inclusion and incorporation of MSHOF inductees as guest instructors proved to be both beneficial and inspirational for the young campers.
Today, the MSHOF continues to recognize the incredible contributions of its closest partners including YourTV Halton (Cogeco), GavCom Media Productions, Scooter’s Catering, the Town of Milton Council and various contributing departments, and our trusted master of ceremonies Chris Mei, as well as our many long-term valued sponsors and community supporters.
Heading into the future, the Milton Sports Hall of Fame continually strives to recognize and honour the sports accomplishments and contributions of our community, while inspiring the youth of Milton.
Join our Team