Those of us involved with the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation really couldn’t have asked for anything more than what we experienced at our inaugural Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 30.

The Foundation was born out of a burning desire to shine a spotlight of sorts on the profession and to honour those who travel hockey’s wild west in search of the next one.

In numerous meetings held in the months leading up to the induction dinner, we constantly talked about how this was all about the honourees, the Class of 2024 that would be the first to have portraits and bios posted on the Wall of Honour. The objective really was to make this a memorable event for those folks and their families.

And it seems that we succeeded.

“What a fabulous evening,” wrote the daughter of one of the deceased honourees. “You folks had been working so hard on it I knew it would be special but it went way beyond special!! Thank you.”

————

There were a number of highlights but it could be that one stood out among the rest. In fact, if anything will have a lasting effect it might well be the In Memorial video that was produced by Billy Melville.

As one attendee told me: “The topper of the night was the In Memorial Video. Really well done by Billy . . . tears followed by a standing ovation. Was really touching.”

If you haven’t seen the In Memoriam video, or even if you have and would like to see it again, it’s right there on our website at hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. It really is terrific!

————

Thank you to Mayor Tanya Thorn of our host Town of Okotoks. She took part in the official unveiling of the Wall of Honour prior to the induction dinner. Later, she tweeted: “Was an honour to attend the induction banquet for the @WCproscouts. @townofokotoks is honoured to provide a home for the Foundation’s Wall of Honour!”

The Wall of Honour is permanently housed in the foyer of the Viking Rentals Centre (Formerly The Okotoks Centennial Arenas). If you weren’t there on July 30, here’s hoping you are able to stop by and see it at some point.

————

Britt Prendergast and her father, Kevin.

Britt Prendergast, whose father, Kevin, was one of the inductees, posted this on Twitter, along with photos of her and her father, his bio on the Wall of Honour and his Wall of Honour belt buckle:

“My idol was inducted into the Scouts Wall of Fame as voted by his NHL peers. This is so incredible to know I always believed in his hard work in the NHL for over 35 years but so do the people in the hockey world.

“The hard work and dedication you gave for that sport, those players, missing key moments in your own personal life for one goal. The highs were high, the lows were so low.

“You showed me first hand how incredibly cruel that world can be, but also how unbelievably kind and considerate some can also be given this recognition.

“I’ll always be your No. 1 fan. The memories of your time with the Edmonton Oilers, Hockey Canada and the Buffalo Sabres will forever be some of my fondest memories. The TV interviews, press conferences, shots of you in the press box, newspaper articles, radio interviews, making NHL draft picks on centre stage, and giving the No. 1 to the cameras after a world championship gold medal are some of the greatest memories I’ll forever have to look back on with pride.

“In positions and titles of Player Personnel, Scout, Head Scout, Vice-President of Hockey Operations, Governor, Assistant General Manager, Pro Scout . . . the most important title you’ve ever had to me was always Dad.

“Love your beaming with pride Daughter.”

————

The Foundation’s inaugural Wall of Honour induction dinner drew a large and appreciative crowd.

Somehow we managed to pull off two dinners in 10 months, and both of them were successes. The Foundation’s startup banquet at the same site on Sept. 30 drew 190 folks, who got to enjoy a roast of Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean. The induction dinner had 420 people in attendance and they were treated to a couple of Hot Stove sessions.

Those in attendance quite enjoyed the two Hot Stove sessions, headlined Tales from the Road.

The incomparable Dennis Beyak, who is on our board of directors and also is the emcee, told me:

“The two Hot Stove panels were excellent. Everyone participated. Got some great stories out of them, both funny and inspirational. During the second Hot Stove, I watched the crowd. No one was bored . . . no one was moving around . . . so we took it to 50 minutes.”

Here’s a big thank you to Craig Button, John Davidson, Archie Henderson, Ken Holland, Craig MacTavish, Mike Penny, Brian Skrudland, Barry Trotz, Al Tuer and Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser for more than living up to your advance billing.

————

Here’s a few words from Judy Twardoski, the daughter of the late Gerry Melnyk, who was in the Class of 2024:

“Although I was eagerly looking forward to the evening, I must admit that I didn’t really know what to expect. I felt such joy, pride and a deep sense of gratitude for every person who came forth with a story to share with me about my Dad and so many of the others who were also inducted. Meeting up with other daughters or sons of scouts who were representing their father’s legacies was also very special to me as we’d share hugs and stories as we discovered one another.

“I’ve always known from conversations with my Dad that the scouting fraternity was close-knit and how connected the scouts’ lives had been throughout their careers. Witnessing and feeling that closeness and energy firsthand just seemed so magical and alive with their shared experiences.

“It was wonderful to meet you and an absolute honour to attend this well-planned event. I hope you were thrilled with the turnout and all of your well-laid plans that led to an enormous success.

“Two days later and my mind is still buzzing and I’m still smiling about the conversations and events of that evening. I hope the success of Tuesday night far exceded any expectations you may have had and that you are also smiling from ear to ear.”

————

The elevators at the Sheraton Cavalier Calgary offered a welcome to guests who were headed to the induction dinner.

Thank you, too, to Grant Erickson and the gang at our host hotel — the Sheraton Cavalier Calgary at 2620 32 Ave. NE. The welcoming signs on the elevators were a special touch and made us feel at home. Oh, and keeping the bar open late on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning didn’t hurt, either. LOL!

————

Here’s Teresa Ehman, daughter of the late Gerry Ehman, another of the inductees:

“Just a quick note to say the event was fabulous!!

“On behalf of the Ehman family, we really appreciated Dad’s Induction, amongst such an amazing group of hockey scouts.

“What an incredible turnout and acknowledgement for the scouting community!”

————

Thank you, too, to all who were involved in the afternoon’s official unveiling of the Wall of Honour, and to those who were busy with setting things up for the dinner — and all that went into it — and then taking it all down.

And a huge thank you to honourees and family members who took time out of their busy lives to travel to Okotoks to be a part of the celebration. It was fun, wasn’t it?

————

A few words from Val Hampson Montgomery, who was on hand with 17 family members as her father, Ted, was inducted:

“I know I’m not the first person to express what an outstanding success the banquet was on July 30. The whole evening from start to finish was so special to the scouting community in general and to those of us who love and support our scouts, even though at times they didn’t receive the accolades from other branches in the hockey world.

“I can’t tell you how thrilled Teddy was . . . and his two sons being right there to witness his induction into the Wall of Honour. There were 18 of us at the dinner representing Ted’s family members. We were very impressed with how organized the event was. The Hot Stove discussions were interesting and fun. The auction was above our heads, but it was wonderful to see the donations build over the evening. Everyone was dedicated to making the evening a success and it worked!

“Thank you immensely for your contributions to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of scouting, both the professionals and the amateur scouts. Great evening. Thoroughly enjoyed it all.”

————

We also have to thank our many sponsors, the ones whose logos appear at the bottom of the home page on our website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com) and the ones who are sponsoring various inductees on the Wall of Honour. Thanks for being with us on what has been a fun ride to this point, and here’s hoping you’ll stay with us as we head on down the road.

————

Here’s Wendy Johnson, daughter of the late Frank Currie, another of the inductees:

“What a fabulous evening. You folks had been working so hard on it I knew it would be special but it went way beyond special!! Thank you.

“We were fortunate to have all of Frank’s remaining family in attendance and they were all blown away. You have set the bar very high for future years but I am sure you will do just as well.

“We all thoroughly enjoyed the Hot Stove interaction and the stories were great. My husband and I would get together with Frank when he had the Eastern scouts out and it brought back the great stories they would share!!!

“Thank you to . . . all the other members of the team for making it a most memorable evening for so many.”

————

Just like the night of July 30, the last word goes to the emcee, Dennis Beyak:

“It was a great night . . . a great few days. The smiles on the scouts that were at the hotel made it all worthwhile. Especially the retired guys. They were thrilled to be recognized. Had a bounce to their step. They were so appreciative.”

—————

Gregg Drinnan

WCPHSF editor/historian

[email protected]