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27 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,July 4,2019 theifp.ca Open year round Endless possibilities CELEBRATING all of LIFE'S MOMENTS EAGLE RIDGE GOLF CLUB | RR #4, 11742 TENTH LINE, GEORGETOWN, ON | eagleridge.clublink.ca BAPTISMS and CHRISTENINGS BABY SHOWERS BRIDAL SHOWERS REHEARSAL DINNERS WEDDINGS BIRTHDAYS CELEBRATIONS of LIFE FUNDRAISERS HOLIDAY PARTIES BRUNCHES MEETINGS Thank you for yourNomination! For more information contact Chuck Stratton | 905-877-8468 ext 2223 | cstratton@clublink.caCell: 416-989-7809 Dave LoDuca QUALITY BATHROOM RENOVATIONS C C T I L EE RAM I Gold 2018 Halton Hills CONTRACTOR - 7 years! Thanks for your support! Growing up in George- town, Cristy Nurse always considered herself lucky to be able to play so many dif- ferent sports. She excelled at them, but she never real- ly considered pursuing one of them to an elite level. When she arrived at the University of Guelph, where she played on the Gryphons' basketball team, she started to ques- tion her decision to play multiple sports. Suddenly, she was competing against players who had dedicated themselves solely to bas- ketball, spending hours re- fining their dribbling and shooting. In her rookie season, the team program gave brief descriptions of each of the players. Nurse's profile read, "She's not much now, but we're hoping good things will come." "I couldn't have known at the time, what would come, sooner rather than later, was the end of my basketball career," said Nurse at the Halton Hills Sports Museum's Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Nurse continued to ex- plore her sporting options, and discovered rowing. In a sport where each stroke re- quires the use of 98 per cent of all your muscles, her di- verse sporting background was now an asset. "All of a sudden, with that multi-sport back- ground, I was able to go from sitting in a boat for the first time to a world championship podium in four years." Nurse would go on to win six world championship medals and represent Canada at the 2016 Olympics. While many of Nurse's fellow inductees did spe- cialize, the common thread through their experience was the opportunities their community and its people offered them. "I stood at the bottom of my driveway, stick in hand, and watched two brothers play hockey," said Mike Knoepfli, who went on to captain Cornell Universi- ty's team before an 11-year pro career in Switzerland. "After a while, and my best puppy dog eyes, they invit- ed me over to play. I think back now to the patience they showed with me, the willingness to show me some skills. It created this passion for hockey that I have. Those two players were Rod Pasma and his brother Jeff." Now the executive vice- president of operations for the NHL, Rod Pasma joined Knoepfli in the 2019 class and later joked, "Mike, I apologize. Obviously, I was the one who showed you the little tricks of the trade in the driveway. If it had been my brother, we'd be talking about your 11 years in the NHL." Pasma said it was im- possible to say thank you enough to those who al- lowed him to pursue his ca- reer in hockey and then in the sport's administration. "A hall of fame induc- tion in any sport at any lev- el is a special honour, espe- cially in your hometown," he said, "and it's likely the result of sacrifices and commitments of family and friends. You're the rea- son I'm up here today." There was a time when there would not have been athletic opportunities for Emily Boycott, who has won 16 medals re- presenting Canada at the Special Olympics World Games. "When Emily was young, we started looking for a sport for her, just like we had done for her two brothers and two sisters," said her mom Debbie Boy- cott. "Special Olympics gave Emily that unique op- portunity to participate and compete in sports, an avenue to meet friends and give her an opportunity to shine." Sports and those who take the time to coach teams also gave Joanne Be- rentson (Bingham) an op- portunity. In high school, Berentson was so shy she passed up an opportunity to attend a junior national volleyball team tryout. But her coach arranged a pri- vate tryout and she made the team. She went on to an all- star collegiate career and represented Canada at the world championships be- fore going on to a 20-year career in policing. "I'd like to thank all the coaches who take the time to coach young kids so they can find endeavours that make them feel more pow- erful, more confident," she said. The hall's selection committee also recognized those who help provide those opportunities when it inducted Sunny Acre Farms, the sponsor of the Georgetown, and now Hal- ton Hills, midget AA team for more than five decades. Walter Bianchi started the tradition in the 1960s and after his death in 2001, his son Gary carried on the longtime affiliation. Like the sponsors, the team's players have spanned gen- erations. Last year's midg- et coach, Blake Seaton, was a former player and his dad also played on and coached the team. "You don't think the things you do through life, and enjoy doing," said Gary Bianchi, "will result in an honour like this." COMMUNITY HALL OF FAMERS GRATEFUL FOR OPPORTUNITIES COMMUNITY OFFERS HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com The Halton Hills Sports Museum inducted its Hall of Fame class for 2019. Honoured were: (back, from left) Joanne Berentson, Emily Boycott, Cristy Nurse (front, from left) Rod Pasma, Mike Knoepfli and Gary Bianchi of Sunny Acre Farms. Herb Garbutt / Torstar