Gets $25,000 boost Museum nears completion

The long-awaited opening of the Halton Hills Sports Museum & Resource Centre appears to be just a few months away and the organizing committee just received a significant financial boost to help advance the project. Georgetown Hockey Heritage Council has purchased the naming rights for the upstairs meeting room in the Mold-Masters SportsPlex where the museum will be located-- for $25,000-- allowing the committee to update display cabinets, add some overhead lighting and implement on-line computer access. The room has been named the Gordon Alcott Heritage Hall. Finn Poulstrup, chair of the HHSM committee, said the challenge now is to fill the remaining eight currently empty display cabinets with memorabilia and materials from some of the many sports and recreation groups in the municipality. The six founding groups of the museum-- the Georgetown Skating Club, Halton Hills Minor Lacrosse, Georgetown Minor Hockey, North Halton Twisters' Girls Hockey, Georgetown Hockey Heritage and the Town of Halton Hills (whose cabinet has been assumed by Georgetown Slo-Pitch)-- have already established their displays in the museum. "We expect (the cabinets) should be full by early in the New Year," said John Archibald, recreation facilities supervisor for the Town of Halton Hills. "I think that once word gets out that the museum is open, especially in this town, we'll have people lined up to see it." Archibald added that the committee is in the process of determining the groups that will occupy the remaining cabinet spaces. The financially self-supporting project began about five years ago with a $200,000 renovation to the meeting room adjacent to the Alcott Arena upstairs entrance. "We've now got the facility and the cabinets to accommodate the great history of athletics here and the hard part will be to get it on display so we can get this off the ground," said Poulstrup, who noted the cost of the 14 cabinets was approximately $45,000. The HHSM's objective is to recognize and honour the town's sporting past. It has a dual purpose of educating and inspiring future generations and attracting potential tourism. The first big event for the museum is its inductees of the year ceremony, to take place Wednesday, June 20 in the Gordon Alcott Heritage Hall. On that occasion, one member (athlete or builder) from each of the sporting groups in the museum will be honoured with induction. The organizing committee will also soon be looking to hire a curator for the museum to help co-ordinate the presentation of the displays. They also welcome contributions of memorabilia or related materials from the general public. For more information, call Finn Poulstrup at 905-873-2855, John Archibald at 905-8732601 (ext. 2403) or visit the website www.hhsm.ca.

The executive of the Halton Hills Sports Museum received a cheque for $25,000 from the Georgetown Hockey Heritage Council to help put the finishing touches on the Gordon Alcott Heritage Hall, which is slated to open early next year. Pictured above (from left) are: Aaron Matthews from the Town of Halton Hills, Georgetown Hockey Heritage chair Dave Kentner, HHSM treasurer Bob Hooper, director John Archibald, Grace Rylett of the North Halton Twisters, HHSM secretary Glenda Nixdorf, HHSM sports awards director Steve Foreman, director Shell Lawr, Town of Halton Hills councilor Bob Inglis and HHSM chair Finn Poulstrup.