Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame announces 2025 induction class
As longtime administrator for the Sudbury Secondary Schools Athletic Association, Dave Makela has been on hand while students ran to record-smashing times, surpassed decades-old scoring totals and made multiple trips to the top of the podium.
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But as he reflected on his career this week, it wasn't necessary the awards and accolades that stood out for the life-long Sudburian, but those moments in between that truly brought home how he and his colleagues were making a difference in the lives of young athletes.
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'I can recall a monsoon rainstorm football game between Lockerby and Lo-Ellen at Queen's Athletic Field,' Makela told The Sudbury Star. 'Those of us in the crow's nest were so concerned about the kids and their safety — and they were singing. They loved it.'
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'I don't know how I'm going to make it through the speech at the hall-of-fame dinner,' Makela said with a chuckle. 'I'll probably just tell a joke and go sit down.'
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However he decides to acknowledge the honour, Makela and his fellow inductees will surely receive a warm reception when the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame officially adds five new individual members, as well as one team as the Norm Mayer Dynasty recipient, during its annual banquet at the Caruso Club on June 4.
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Committee chair Randy Pascal announced the latest inductees during a media reception at Eddie's Restaurant on Wednesday morning. They also include Olympic-medallist figure skater Meagan Duhamel and the speed-skating duo of Alex and Florence Hurd in the athlete category, longtime hockey coach and manager Bob Parker in the builder category, veteran hockey scout and coach Doug Bonhomme in the administrator category, and the Sudbury Hardrocks/Sudbury Spartans football franchise.
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'It's hard to feel anything but incredibly thankful,' said Makela, whose High School Sports column has graced The Star's pages for many years. 'To be able to live, play, grow up and work in the town you were born in, it's a privilege not many in this world get to live — and I have lived it.
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'It's rewarding, but a little uncomfortable, to be honest. I'm used to working in groups and it's not usually about an individual, it's part of a team. You're on an organizing committee, an appeal committee, an executive, so to be singled out like this is kind of uncomfortable for me, but I'll take it. I really enjoy the process and I think it's great, what the hall of fame is doing here. They're rewarding people who have put a lot of their lives into programs. All I tried to do when I got hired was repay the confidence people placed in me — not only selection committees, but coaches in my life growing up. No one got more out of sports in life than I did as a youngster, so it's just an incredible privilege to be able to repay that support in a job you do for a living.'
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