Sport: Hockey
Position: Executive Member, Administrator
Year of Induction: 2015

Bill was born in Windsor, grew up in Leamington, and after a short career with the Toronto Dominion Bank, joined Union Gas in 1956 with whom he remained for 40 years. Bill had a number of roles with Union Gas that took him to Petrolia, Sarnia, London, and Burlington, but much of his time was spent in Chatham and immediate area. No matter where his work took him, Bill served his community and province as a volunteer in hockey arenas and meeting rooms throughout Ontario. He lived in Chatham for four years in the early 1970’s and has permanently resided in Chatham since 1997 and continues to work here with the hockey community.

• 1979 – 81 – Was President of Chatham Pontiacs Senior Hockey Team
• 1982 – Was OHA Junior “D” League Convenor
• 1988 – 2012 – Was board member for Ontario Hockey Association (OHA)
• Served as Director, Vice-chairman, Chairman, and Advisory Board Member
• Was also Chairperson of Great Lakes Junior “C” League (GLJC)
• Attended most GLJC League Meetings in role of OHA Life Member Observer – was OHA Advisor to GLJC Executive Board and GLJC teams
• 2008 – With Bill Saunders, re-wrote GLJC Constitution
• 2015 – Reviewed changes made by GLJC General Managers and updated its Constitution
• 1988-99 – Was Chairman of OHA Senior Hockey League
• 1995-2003 – Was Director of Hockey Development Centre for Ontario (HDCO) which distributes funding to Ontario hockey organizations
• 1995-2003 – Held positions with Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF), initially (1995-1999) as Chairperson of Senior and Adult recreational Hockey
• 1999-2003 – Was Treasurer
• In late 1990’s and early 2000’s – was the only volunteer hockey voice at Hockey Canada (HC) level promoting Adult Recreational Hockey – HC later hired a full-time staff person to undertake this responsibility
• 1998 – Became an Honourary Member of the Chatham Maroon Alumni
• Annually does an audit of the Maroon Alumni’s banking practices and produces an audit report for same – at Maroon Alumni Officer’s Meeting, conducts its annual election of officers
• Beginning in 2003 – member of Chatham Minor Hockey’s (CHMA) Tournament Committee for over 15 years – has served as Co-Convener/Host at the Memorial Arena for CMHA’s Annual (pre-Christmas) Silver Stick Hockey Tournament
• For 2 years in early 2000’s served as Special Advisor on Provincial Hockey Matters (i.e. HDCO and OHF) to CMHA
• Beginning in 2003 – OHA Chairperson of the Western Division of GOJHL (Junior “B” League) for over 15 years
• Beginning in 2010-2011 season – charted game ‘on ice’ playing time and game performance of all 16 year old players for several Junior “B” and Junior “C” teams for over 15 years
• 2002 – 2003 – Covered Chatham Jr. Maroons home games for the Windsor Star and occasionally, was an analyst for CFCO Radio

In Addition

While working and living outside Chatham, Bill was involved in community activities, both sports related and non-sports related. In Chatham his community involvement included serving as a volunteer and executive member in local and provincial service clubs and agencies. These included the Chatham Jaycees, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Chatham-Kent PAY IT FORWARD, and Chatham-Kent United Way.

Awards & Recognitions

• 1991 – Certificate of Appreciation towards the Advancement of Women’s Hockey in Ontario from Ontario Women’s Hockey Association
• 1992 – Ontario Hockey Federation Past President’s Award
• 1999 – Hockey Development Centre for Ontario Certificate of Recognition for Outstanding Contributions towards the Development of Hockey 2002 – Ontario Hockey Federation Certificate of Appreciation for contributions made towards the success of the CHA Annual Meeting held in Toronto
• 2002 – Hockey Development Centre for Ontario Award for Program Development as Inline Hockey Team Leader for Central Canada
• 2002 – Ontario Hockey Association Centennial Award (as an OHA Board Member)
• 2003 – Ontario Hockey Federation Volunteer of the Year Award
• June 2007 – Ontario Hockey Association Gold Stick Award for outstanding contributions to the game other than as a player
• June 2010 – Ontario Hockey Association Life Membership
• 2014 – Ontario Hockey Federation Senior Hockey Involvement Award in recognition of years spent actively promoting Adult Recreational Hockey in Ontario as well as work in other provincial branches of Hockey Canada