Tag Archives: Award

Never Give Up wins MAS Award of Merit

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The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame was honoured with the Museums Association of Saskatchewan’s MAS Award of Merit – Institution (under $50,000.00) for 2022.

The award was bestowed for the SSHF’s Never Give Up educational program during the Museums Association of Saskatchewan (MAS) Conference and Banquet in Estevan on June 10. The SSHF had previously won a MAS Award of Merit – Institution (budget over $100,000) in 2018 for the mobile exhibit trailer project.

Never Give Up was also honoured with the Canadian Association for Sport Heritage’s CASH Award of Excellence on June 1.

 Never Give Up is an education program targeting at-risk students in Grades 4-8 which focuses on answering the question: what makes a person a “hero”? By discussing the concept of a hero, Never Give Up allows the students to understand that heroes are different for everyone and often they take the form of positive role models throughout each person’s community. Never Give Up is administered virtually and involves SSHF inductees who have overcome obstacles and hardships to achieve their own personal goals in sport and life. The students benefitting from this program represent a range of diverse life experiences and thus, so too do the presenters who currently include war refugees, amputees, and Paralympians.

Never Give Up really hit its stride in 2021 when Covid-19 required that all education programming be conducted virtually. Over the course of 24 sessions (six weeks in May/June and six weeks in October/November), the program reached 35 different communities and a total of 2,047 participants. The SSHF is grateful to have sponsorship support from SaskTel in order to make this program possible.

Inductees Arnold Boldt, Lisa Franks, and Ted Jaleta, along with Colette Bourgonje – who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this fall as a member of the Class of 2021 – shared their inspiring stories with students across the province.

Never Give Up just completed its spring run with 13 different communities across the province taking part across the 14 sessions. In total 1,134 students took part in Never Give Up in the spring of 2022.

Founded in 1968, MAS is a non-profit, collective organization of over 250 member museums and a total membership of over 400, including individuals and associates.

SSHF wins national sports heritage award

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The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (SSHF) was awarded the Canadian Association for Sports Heritage (CASH) Award of Excellence at their Annual General Meeting on Thursday, June 10.

The CASH Award of Excellence was created this year to recognize and celebrate the achievements of CASH members. Projects were eligible to be nominated from four categories: museum, events, communication and collection.

The SSHF was recognized for their current featured exhibit Prairie Pride: A History of Saskatchewan Football.

“I was so impressed by the submissions we received. Everyone’s projects were fantastic and of extremely high quality. The Committee was extremely impressed with one project in particular which made excellent use of the resources available to them,” said Caitlin Dyer, VP of Communications for CASH and Chair of the Award Selection Committee, in announcing the award winner.

“(The SSHF) has an amazing display with a very cool virtual tour and an education component that went along with it. The Committee was really impressed and it’s a great example of an amazing project. We’re so thrilled to present to you the inaugural CASH Award of Excellence.”

Prairie Pride was created by Curator Bryann Seib and went on display when the SSHF re-opened on September 2, 2020. After the Hall of Fame closed to the public in response to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the province, a virtual tour was created by Seib and Communications Coordinator Matthew Gourlie in partnership with White Rabbit VR in Regina to enhance the physical exhibit with additional content.

Having the new exhibit has provided crucial content for Education Coordinator Vickie Krauss to facilitate her Virtual Field Trip program that has helped bring the SSHF into schools virtually during the pandemic.

In addition, thanks to part-time staff member Justin Ottenbreit, our EZ Wall video system was refurbished to play a series of videos and vignettes related to the exhibit.

Having Prairie Pride on display also facilitated an opportunity where the SSHF has been able to display the original W.G. Hardy Rugby Trophy which has been given to the Western Canadian university football champions since 1922.

The CASH Award of Excellence was evaluated by the Awards Selection Committee using a point system.

CASH is comprised of 70 members and is a national association of institutions, organizations, and individuals dedicated to the preservation of Canada’s rich sports heritage.

Sheila Kelly to Receive Prestigious Schroeder Award

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The International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) has named Sheila Kelly, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (SSHF), as recipient of the prestigious Schroeder Award.

Presented periodically, the W.R. “Bill” Schroeder Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor presented by ISHA and is awarded to individuals for meritorious service of lasting nature in the sports heritage industry.

“Sheila has distinguished herself as an outstanding museum leader and strives for excellence in all aspects,” ISHA President Susan Wasser said. “Her engaging leadership skills, passion, dedication, and ingenuity has transformed sports heritage within Saskatchewan. We are thrilled to be able to honor Sheila with this award and provide her this well-deserved recognition.”

Sheila has served as Executive Director for the Hall of Fame for 28 years. During her tenure, she has impacted sports heritage from the local to the international levels by developing the Hall of Fame as the leading sports heritage association in the province. Additionally, she is credited with nurturing the development of multiple satellite halls, sports museum and sports heritage research projects. On behalf of the Hall of Fame, she also secured a formal agreement with the Province’s most successful sports team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League, to house its entire collection.

“Sheila has been the sustaining factor behind the Hall for the more than 25 years and has impacted countless individuals not just across Saskatchewan, but across Canada and internationally as well,” said Rankin Jaworski, SSHF President. “ I have no doubt in my mind that the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame would not exist as it does today without Sheila and I’m beyond pleased to see her recognized on an international level with such a prestigious award for the time, energy and passion she has poured into the Hall.”

The official presentation of the Schroeder Award will take place on October 19, 2017, at “An Evening of Champions” as part of ISHA’s annual conference, hosted this year by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, October 18-20.

For more information, contact:
Sheila Kelly, Executive Director: 306-780-9233, [email protected]
Autumn McDowell, Communications Coordinator: 306-780-9203, [email protected]

 

 

SSHF – Annual Report – 2016

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Each year, the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame strives to preserve and promote the history of sport in Saskatchewan, and 2016 was no exception. Our 50th Anniversary was an incredibly exciting and successful year for the SSHF.

We started this year of celebration with an enthusiasm that kept gaining momentum with each new success.  To finish the year by being named Tourism Saskatchewan’s Business of the Year Award (Under 20 Full-time Employees) was amazing recognition. We could never have imagined a more perfect end to our 50th Anniversary year.

Special thank you to all members of the Hall of Fame, your support over the past year has been overwhelming. We look forward to another 50 years!

You can download a copy of the 2016 Annual Report, right here:

Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame Annual Report 2016

 

Special Announcement: SSHF Wins ISHA Award

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Ishy collection

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (SSHF) is pleased to announce that The Spirit of ’89: Memories from the 1989 Jeux Canada Summer Games, co-published by the SSHF and The 1989 Jeux Canada Games Foundation, has been awarded an “ISHY” from the International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) as the best book publication in the industry for institutions with a budget greater than $250,000 US.

Publications are adjudicated by our peers in the industry on the basis of how well they feature a member institution, collection, resources and/or inductees of the Hall of Fame.

The SSHF is dedicated to the celebration and interpretation of sport excellence and preserving the sport history of our province. One of the means by which we achieve our mandate is through our Sport History Project (SHP) which allows us to capture the history of organizations or events through different mediums. The Spirit of ’89 was produced under the auspices of the SHP and was written to capture the history of a major sporting event in Saskatchewan and Canada; to showcase the spirit of the people of Saskatoon in hosting the Games; and to commemorate the significant legacy components of the Games. Not only did the Canada Games leave Saskatoon with a wealth of facilities after the Games, the prudent financial stewardship of the Games resulted in a net profit of $1,319,663 from a $24 million+ budget. These funds, invested wisely, have resulted in $100,000 worth of grants being distributed annually to amateur sport programs throughout Saskatchewan resulting in the continued development of sport and providing opportunities to future world class athletes. The legacy of the Games continues.

Ironically, in capturing the history of the 1989 Jeux Canada Games, The Spirit of ’89 also captured historical anecdotes for a number of our hall of famers. Forty-two inductees, out of 498 at the time of publication, are represented in the book.

The ISHY Awards were announced at ISHA’s annual conference hosted this year by the World of Little League Museum in Williamsport, PA. Other 2015 ISHY winners include the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, NASCAR Hall of Fame, Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, San Francisco 49ers Museum, St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum, United States Golf Association Museum and Melbourne (Australia) Cricket Club.

ISHA is a membership organization incorporated in 1971 to assist sport museums and halls of fame to develop, operate and promote their facilities in the best way possible. Member institutions are currently located throughout North & South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

SSHF Wins ISHA 2014 Communication Award

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Left to right: Paula Homan (ISHA Communications Awards Committee), Saleem Chadry (ISHA CAC), & Sheila Kelly

Left to right: Paula Homan (ISHA Communications Awards Committee), Saleem Chadry (ISHA CAC), & Sheila Kelly

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (SSHF) is pleased to announce that our website, www.sasksportshalloffame.com, has been awarded a 2014 Communication Award from the International Sports Heritage Association (ISHA) as the best in the industry for institutions with a budget greater than $250,000 US.

The recent responsive changes made to our website, combined with the expanded content development, have been recognized by our peers in the industry with the awarding of an “ISHY” from ISHA.

Since re-launching the website Google Analytics has confirmed that the SSHF has made huge improvements in our online presence. We have grown from a few hundred visits per month to a situation where we now have thousands. Site visitors are averaging 12 minute visits as compared to the industry standard of less than 2 minutes. One of the most satisfying outcomes is that www.sasksportshalloffame.com continues to attract new visitors. The most recent data indicates that 77% of those looking at the website were new individuals. These statistics and much more combined to make us ISHY winners.

CB_SSHF

We are indebted to our web designers, Command Base, for working with us on this award winning initiative.

The ISHY trophy was presented at ISHA’s annual conference hosted this year by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN.

ISHA is a membership organization incorporated in 1971 to assist sport museums and halls of fame to develop, operate and promote their facilities in the best way possible. Member institutions are currently located throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and New Zealand.