Culture & Sports Hall of Fame Awards Presented for 2023

Clearview Township announced the 2023 Culture & Sports Hall of Fame Award Winners, honoured at the Hall of Fame Awards Ceremony at the Stayner Community Centre on June 19, 2024.

Fellow community members nominated the award recipients for making a positive impact on the sports and cultural community in Clearview in nine distinct categories.

“We are blessed in Clearview Township to have a culture of competitive sports and talented artists. Congratulations to the nominees and award recipients on behalf of Council and all in our community,” said Mayor Doug Measures.

The legacy awards are on display in the atrium of the Stayner Community Centre and Stayner Branch of the Clearview Public Library. In addition, the Hall of Fame kiosk recognizes current and past members of the Clearview Hall of Fame and welcomes visitors to learn more about the outstanding contributions of community members.

Young Leader in Sport – Ryan Hepburn

Hepburn has played and umpired several years for New Lowell Minor Baseball Association representing this community in a positive light.

Hepburn demonstrated great leadership on and off the field. As an umpire, he displayed an increasing level of confidence and knowledge of the game while exhibiting a better sense of game management. He mentors younger umpires by offering constructivecriticism and sharing personal experiences to enable growth. He has learned and continues to grow when dealing with adverse situations by remaining calm, providing explanations resulting in diffusing the situations. Hepburn was dedicated to the program and exemplary to his peers while umpiring. He demonstrated respect and professionalism to the game.

Young Leader in Culture – Ella Baker

Ella Baker has lived in Stayner since 2003 and was part of Clearview Community Theatre (CCT) from 2012 until she graduated high school in 2020. She participated in theatre, ukulele and choir performances. These performances served as a means to fundraise for the theatre group as well as for other local charities. These shows were also brought into nursing homes and care facilities to share music and theatre with the residents. Baker served on the Board of Directors for Clearview Community Theatre as part of the Youth Director Mentorship Program for six years and as a full director after turning 18. Baker was one of the 2020 recipients of the Wendy Stormes Award for Outstanding Contributions and Leadership in Theatre.

Baker was part of the OMCI Summer Emerging Artist Program. Her role was to perform in and around Clearview Township, supporting Festivals and events, busking and helping to animate the communities.

Baker performed at various Clearview summer Markets singing and playing some of her original music and has been featured on the PEAK FM “Talk of the Town” and “Northern Tracks” series. Baker was one of the featured female artists in Shipyard Kitchen Party’s song/video “This Ain’t a House” – a song of hope and support for victims of domestic violence and for the women’s shelters that help them.

Young Leader in Culture – Grey Baker

Grey Baker has lived in Stayner their whole life and has been part of Clearview Community Theatre (CCT) from the age of seven. Since then, they have participated in theatre, ukulele and choir performances. Baker served on the Board of Directors for Clearview Community Theatre as part of the Youth Director Mentorship Program for five years and was one of the 2023 recipients of the Wendy Stormes Award for Outstanding Contributions and Leadership in Theatre.

In their high school Baker was involved in many leadership activities attending multiple leadership conferences. Most notably Baker wrote, directed and performed the lead role in the school’s play which was entered into the National Theatre School Drama Festival. The play won district and regional level competitions and moved on to the Provincial Showcase with Baker winning awards for directing, writing and acting. At the provincial level Baker won one of the six Mira Awards for Artistic Vision and the award for best student-written script for 2023.

Baker is currently studying theatre at York University and has been cast in the lead role for a feature film which began shooting in May.

Athletic Achievement Award – Walker Godmere

Walker Godmere has played baseball in New Lowell for several years and 2023 was his last, due to aging out of minor baseball. Throughout the years playing baseball, he demonstrated respect and sportsmanship to coaches, players and officials. While being an experienced umpire himself, he readily accepted their calls and if he questioned an umpire, it was exercised discreetly and with the utmost respect. He greeted the opposition players when they arrived at the New Lowell diamonds.

Walker welcomed all his teammates whether they were experienced baseball players or new to the sport. He made all players feel like valued members of the team. He readily mentored younger players on fundamentals to play the catcher’s position whileachieving success.

Athlete of the Year Award – Anna Carruthers

In 2023, Anna Carruthers earned two silver medals at provincials and a fifth place national ranking.

As a Western University track runner, Carruthers won two silver medals at the Ontario University Athletics provincial championships, one in the 3000 metre race and another in the four-by-800-metre relay.

Carruthers and her teammate were neck-and- neck at the finish line for the 3000 metre race. She narrowly missed the gold but she said it was a huge personal accomplishment to win her first individual medal. Being in the top-12 track runners of all Canadian university students earned Carruthers a spot at the 2023 FFUN U SPORTS Track and Field Championship in Saskatoon where the women’s track and field team won silver, finishing 100 points behind Guelph, and Carruthers maintained her fifth place national ranking in the 3000 metre.

Team of the Year Award – New Lowell Knights 2022 to 2023

The Knights, a mainstay in the North Dufferin Baseball League since 1967, have enjoyed great success in recent years, winning league championships in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2023. They were also finalists in 2017 and 2021.

As a result of the team’s hard work by the players and coaches they have continuously demonstrated great success in the sport of baseball for the community of New Lowell and Clearview Township. Moreover, by their victories and representation in both league and provincial championships they demonstrate that successful baseball programs can be found within smaller communities in the province. The team’s core roster has not changed significantly in the past 10 years, winning the Strothers Cup five of those years.

Builder Award – Richard Gauthier

Richard Gauthier is a local business owner, and president and director of hockey operations for the Stayner Siskins, a PJHL Jr. C. team he first played for 35 years ago. The team celebrated its 50th season in 2022/23, advancing to the Schmalz Cup Championships in 2022 and 2023.