Laura Strong (centre) was one of five people inducted into the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame last Thursday. From left are Mayor Dave Aker, Mount Pearl North MHA Lucy Stoyles, councillor Isabelle Fry, inductee Laura Strong, Mount Pearl Sport Alliance chairman Roy Locke, and councillor Bill Antle. Submitted photo
By Mark Squibb
The Mount Pearl Sports Alliance inducted five new members into the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame at an awards gala last Thursday at the Reid Community Centre.
Keith Smith, Mary Spurrell, Laura Strong, Patrick O’Keefe, and David Rogers were all inducted for their commitment to sports in the City of Mount Pearl.
Smith served with the Mount Pearl Soccer Association for 16 years, working on many sub-committees within the organization. He was instrumental in securing funding for both new lighting at the Middle Smallwood Field and a new field.
Spurrell volunteered with the Mount Pearl Tennis Club for over 30 years, including an 18-year stint as a facility and rental contact. Her many hours of volunteer work brought in both revenue and members, and to this day she is known for the delicious meals she prepared for special events and tournaments.
Strong was born and bred in Mount Pearl but as an adult moved to Saskatchewan for work. She has won 12 provincial curling championships. Only nine of the 662 curlers who have represented the province at national competitions have more provincial championships than Strong, with three of those being Brad Gushue, Gary Oke, and Mark Nichols.
Hockey player O’Keefe has played for the Mount Pearl Blades, O’Donel High Patriots, St. John’s AAA Maple Leafs, Grand Falls Cataracts, and the St. John’s Senior Caps, and other teams, culminating in a roster spot on the professional league team Newfoundland Growlers. He also earned a bronze medal with Canada’s World U17 team in 2005, the first time an atlantic team won the medal. O’Keefe has also had a successful ball hockey career and was awarded the Robert Mueller Memorial Award at the 2016 World Championships.
Rogers of Marks Work Warehouse has sponsored the Mount Pearl Minor Hockey Association, Mount Pearl Blades, and Mount Pearl Soccer Association for over 27 years. All told, Rogers and his company have donated close to $180,000 over the years. Additionally, Rogers has volunteered his time as a coach, manager, and more over the years.
Aside from the four inductees, a number of people were recognized for their contributions to sport, including mother and son Darlene and Michael Johnson.
Darlene Johnson of Pearlgate Track and Field was named the Peter Halliday Executive of the Year. Johnson served with the club for a decade, and during her time both the coaching staff and membership tripled. She has held several key positions, including president, and retired last year.
Michael Johnson, also of Pearlgate Track and Field, was named Official of the Year. He is one of only two people in the province fully capable of running the club’s timing system to the capacity needed for a full track-and-field competition. Last summer, during his second-year officiating, Michael officiated five meets, each requiring between six and eight hours of work.
Denise Stirling was awarded the Dave Holloway Memorial Volunteer Working with Youth Award. Stirling is the NL Youth Bowling bantam division coordinator and coach and club treasurer. Her combined duties include coaching, budget building, travel organizing, scheduling, and more.
Lastly, back-to-back champions the Metro Property Management Knights baseball team was named Team of the Year. The team remained undefeated during the regular season, a first-time league accomplishment, and lost only one game during the St. John’s Amateur Baseball Association Intermediate Championship. Despite the loss, the team still captured the championship title for the second year running.
