2017
Gerald Blair | Edwin Hay | Andre Poirier| Jean-Guy Ractliffe | Serge Vaillancourt
Gerald BlairWar hero Gerald Blair from Moose Creek risked all in 1944 when he rescued fellow soldiers during a battle in WWII. His passion to help fellow soldiers, despite having been shot in the leg, led to his dedication to teammates when he came back from the war, even with shrapnel in his leg. Gerald played for the Maxville Millionaires and then went on to coach the team starting in 1955. He coached and sponsored several local hockey teams until 1966 and curled at the Maxville Curling Club where he became a charter member. Gerald was a builder. He ran a successful earth moving equipment and construction business for 50 years. With that he was able to help build the Maxville Curling Club, Maxville and District arena, high school football and baseball diamonds. He sponsored and helped build the Glengarry Golf and Country Club and Camp Kagama for youth. Gerald also supported minor hockey travelling teams that became training grounds for other Glengarry Hall of Famers who went on to play professionally. The father of six sponsored the Gerry Brown’s Hockey School where three of his sons played. Determined that his only daughter would not be left out, he sponsored and supported the Maxville and District Figure Skating Club.
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Edwin HayRenowned for his goal keeping skills, Edwin Hay could bring out the crowd. It wasn’t unusual to see close to 400 spectators at the Father Gauthier soccer field in Lochiel when Edwin was in net. He played for 20 years in the 1950s and 60s and was awarded goalie of the year several times. The team often went undefeated with shut outs in large part due to Edwin’s goal keeping skills. He grew up on a dairy farm not far from Lochiel soccer field. As one of 12 children, he and his siblings and neighbours played soccer often. Nothing much was organized, but they learned how to play together and he sure had the ball kicked at him many times. It was soccer in the summer and broom ball in the winter. He was either playing or coaching, always dedicated to sports. He was assistant coach for his boy’s hockey teams and built an outdoor rink that his four children and many neighbours played on. Apparently, people still talk today about that rink and his dedication to Glengarry sport.
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Andre PoirierAndre Poirier was an exceptional hockey and team player. He began playing for the Alexandria Junior B Glens when he was just 15 years old. Andre was awarded the Campbell MacGillivray Memorial trophy as Glengarry’s top hockey player when he was 17 years old. He was one of 10 children raised by his single mom, Marie, in Glen Robertson. Andre played well with others, perhaps because he came from such a large family. After graduating from Glengarry District High School, Andre won a hockey scholarship to the community college in Canton. NY. He went on to university in Buffalo and ranked top of his list of Eastern U.S. Junior College Champions. He had 17 goals, 25 assists and earned a total of 42 points in 1970. He spent two years with the Canton ATC Norseman and ranked 65 points. Andre won many awards including All Tournament Winner in the National Junior College Championships at International Falls, Minn. He completed his degree in business management, while playing hockey all the time. His love of sports has been proudly passed on to his two children and wife Suzanne.
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Jean-Guy RactliffeJean-Guy is one of the best in North America as a driver of sidecar racing. He has also designed and built sidecars that are still being successfully raced around the world today. Jean-Guy has raced all over Ontario, in California, Alabama and many other places. He started racing at 16 years old and by 1980 had already won the South African Sidecar Championship. While living in Maxville in 1966, Jean-Guy decided to design and fabricate his own sidecar racing chassis, the first of 20 he would make. He was first overall champion in the Sidecar Racer’s Association in 1999 and 2004. In the R. A. C. E. series, he placed number one in 2000, 2003, and 2009. He was presented with the Max Award for Excellence in sidecar racing at the North America International Motorcycle Show in Toronto in 2004 and 2005. Jean-Guy has won several other awards including the B&G Pride and Professionalism award and the Lion’s Club Sportsman of the Year award. Jean-Guy opened CSR Motorcycles and Accessories in Cornwall in 1988, but soon transferred his business to Maxville where he concentrated on race engines. He and wide Christine, who has often been his passenger, live in Greenfield and are still involved in the sport, recently winning at the Calabogie Motorsports Park. Jean-Guy and Christine both say that they are not finished yet.
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Serge VaillancourtHe was one of the youngest fastball players to be named rookie of the year while playing for the Alexandria’s Men Fastball League. He was only 14 years old. Serge is fourth in a family of five, raised in Green Valley and Alexandria. At the age of 15 he was also playing for the Junior B Glens. After winning best rookie, he went on to win many awards as a pitcher and helped take the team to many championship wins. Ten years later, he joined the Cornwall Sportsman Fastball League, the same time he was offered to pitch exclusively in the Ottawa Metro Senior League. Instead of going to Ottawa, he decided to stay close to home and played in Cornwall. Serge pitched many perfect games throughout his career, including one on live TV for the Quebec Championships. In Thetford Mines one year, the team drew 10 thousand people. Serge graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in mathematics and a Bachelor of Education degree. After winning the Jim McCaffrey Trophy as Glengarry County’s outstanding athlete in 1980, he went on to coach high school football, volleyball, badminton, golf and alpine skiing where he took teams to EOSSAA (Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association) wins. Serge has not taught math, science, and Phys. Ed at Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute, he has taught pre-university calculus at Sunway University in Malaysia where he organized badminton, home at the tie to one of the highest ranked teams in the world.
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