Sheila Kelly to Receive Prestigious Schroeder Award

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]

 

 

Special Announcement: SSHF Wins ISHA Award

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

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.