About us

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The Yorkton Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1994. The concept was originally proposed by Vern Pachal in 1993, leading to the organization being officially incorporated under the provincial Non-Profit Corporations Act in February of the following year. Founding members were Vern Pachal, Jerry Bulitz, Dave Baron, Gord Johnson, Merve Laube, Dave Rusnak, Byron McCorkell, Lynda Ziglo, Pattie Pilon, Randy Goulden and Bev Fruin.

The first home for the Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was the lobby of the Godfrey Dean Cultural Centre, with the portraits of the first inductees displayed on the walls after the inaugural induction dinner was held on the first day of October of 1994. Seven individuals and one team were honoured as Home Town Heroes, and became the first members of the Hall of Fame.

The lobby area, however, lacked the space needed to not only recognize the inductees, but also to display the sports memorabilia the organization had collected, ranging from trophies to photos to sports equipment and uniforms. The next move was to the historic Land Titles Building attached to the Godfrey Dean Centre, which had room for showcases and standing displays. While the facilities had lots of space for the Hall of Fame and Museum, neither the organization nor the city which owned the building were able to provide the staffing required to make it accessible to the public, resulting in the doors being locked unless someone requested access and a volunteer opened the building.

With the city requiring the space for other purposes in 2016, it offered the organization space on the  the second floor of the Gallagher Centre across from the curling lounge entrance. The Sports Hall of Fame purchased and installed showcases, which has allowed it to display museum items, memorabilia and artifacts representative of the inductees.

The organization has been largely inactive since then, until a group including previous board members met in 2020 with a view to reviving the organization. A new board was elected, an advisory committee was established, and the organization's incorporation was reactivated.

The new board and advisory committee decided on four priorities for the next several years:

• Refurbish and expand the display at the Gallagher Centre;
• Create an online Sports Hall of Fame and Museum so it is available for everyone everywhere to view;
• Revive the induction dinners as soon as feasible when Covid-19 protocols again allow larger gatherings;
• Start the search for a permanent physical home for the Hall of Fame and Museum when financially feasible.

The expansion of the Gallagher Centre display started in late 2020 with the addition of photos of all inductees to properly recognize them, and a determination to rotate the memorabilia in the showcases more frequently. This Hall of Fame website is the first of two that will display Yorkton's sports history online, with the second one showing all the museum artifacts to follow in the next year. The revival of the induction dinners, and the search for a permanent home will take place when circumstances allow.

The board of directors established in the fall of 2020 to lead the revitalization consists of Chair Don Pfeifer, Vice-Chair Dave Spelay, Secretary-Treasurer Ryan Kitchen, directors Dick DeRyk, Randy Goulden, Ron Balacko, Jennifer Ingham and Becky Dutchak, and city representative Taylor Morrison. The advisory committee members are Gene Krepakewich, Dave Baron, Barry Sharpe, Don Szabo, Ed Magis, Vern Pachal, Michelle Pfeifer and Lynda Ziglo.

Chairs of the board over the years have been Vern Pachal, Don Pfeifer, Allan Hill and Jerry Kobylka. Served as board members and officers since the inception have been Dave Rusnak, Merv Laube, Jerry Bulitz, Lynda Ziglo, Patti Pilon, Gord Johnson, Gene Krepakevich, Bev Fruin, Randy Atkinson, Don Szabo, Jim Jeske, Andy Bolezuik, Deb Link, Michelle Pfeifer, Al Brischuk, Darin Lanigan, Garry Gawryliuk, Jeff Bahrey and Janice Zwirsky. City of Yorkton representatives on the board were Byron McCorkell, Jody Hauta, Darcy McLeod and Darren Spelay.