Here’s your sneak-peak at the 2024 County Sports Hall of Fame nominees!

The County of Brant Sports Ad Hoc Committee got its first look at 2024 Sports Hall of Fame nominees this week. During a quarterly meeting, held on January 17th in Council Chambers, members started the 2024 County of Brant Sports Hall of Fame process where the following individuals, teams and sports builders were nominated by community members and peers Sports Hall of Fame inductees are recognized during the fall (September/October) in the communities they reside.

1994-1995 PDHS Senior boys’ Basketball Team (Paris)

Category: Team - Team members included Blair Goodman, Mark Sutherland, Bill England Jr. Matt Kerr, Dave MacDonald, Dan Hammond, John Thompson, Adam Sleeth, Jason Rupert, Head Coach Ross Enslev and Assistant Coach Bill Lord.

Achievements: The team won the prestigious (National) 1995 New Waterford Coal Bowl Classic Basketball Tournament in New Waterford, Nova Scotia.

Ronald Hampson (Paris)

Category: Athlete

Achievements: Judo Canadian Heavyweight Champion 1976, 1978, 1979. National Team member from 1976-1980. Ron is a National Level referee as well as a National Level Kata Judge. For more than 10 years now Ron has been an associate instructor at Kawasaki Rendokan Judo Academy.

Steve Fergus (Paris)

Category: Builder

Achievements: A resident of Paris for over 40 years, Steve resurrected PDHS football in 2008, a program that was dormant since the 1960s. At various times over the last 15 years, Steve has coached both the junior and senior football teams and promoted the program throughout the community to help build a real football culture in town. He regularly speaks to elementary school students to recruit players and helped lead the PDHS to its first ever A.A.H.B.N title in 2022.

Richard Ward (Paris)

Category:Athlete

Achievements: Richard has been involved in the Special Olympics for over 48 years. He has always been gifted with a natural athletic ability and continues to work hard to achieve his goals! Most recently, he qualified in snowshoeing where he will compete at the National Championships in Calgary in February 2024. This summer he is competing in the Provincial Summer Games in swimming.

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Richard

Other accomplishments include Gold Medal at the 2009 Provincial Summer Games Track and Field in Windsor, Gold Medal at 2019 Provincial winter Games in Sault Ste Marie in snowshoeing, Gold Medal in 2020 National Winter Games in Thunder Bay in snowshoeing and Gold Medal in 2023 Provincial Winter Games in Huntsville snowshoeing. He was set to compete in the 2022 World Winter Games in Russia in snowshoeing, however, they were cancelled due to the war/conflict.

Todd Wood (Paris)

Category: Team

Achievements: Todd is the past owner of the Paris Mounties where he worked diligently to invest in finding local players for the team. Through his ownership of the Mounties, Todd hosted fundraisers and was able to help raise over $250,000 for the Rett Association (Ref for Rett fundraisers)

Burford Coyotes U9 MD Team –2022/2023 Season (Brant West)

Category: Team

Achievements: First U9 MD team in Burford history to be seeded in the Southern Counties A Division and go undefeated all season long, winning the entire year, including the year end championship. The team played 30 games in the

Southern Counties loop, winning every single game scoring 506 goals with only 69 against. The team also competed and won the Max Partlo U9 MD Tournament in Tillsonburg, scoring 62 goals in give games with only 9 against They also won the Lefroy YearEnd Tournament in Barrie, scoring 51 goals in five games with only 2 against. The team consisted of 13 local Burford players aged 8 years old.

Don Henderson (Brant West)

Category: Athlete

Achievements: Over the years Don and Grace Henderson supported many local minor sports teams under the Don Henderson Automotive banner. Don had a wrecking yard and repair shop in Burford where he was a huge support of the high school co-op program, hiring many young students.

He was a long-time support of youth sports (right up until his death) in the community as well as his own accomplishments of pioneering efforts in the sport of drag racing here in Ontario He was a member of the Piston Pushers Car Club, he operated the Cayuga Drag Strip, he was sponsored by Ford of Canada and Brant County Ford in Super Stock

66 Ford Fairlane and Super Stock

69 Ford Mustang. He was a feared competitor in the Super Stock Class and travelled for competition to local dragstrips across Southwestern Ontario and across the border at Niagara Dragway and Detroit Dragway He also qualified for and competed in the Nationals at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indiana.