On Thursday, the seven 2014 Home of Champions inductees were honoured at the Riverbelle.
The group of inductees, dignitaries, families and friends were then led down to the Home of Champions Monument by the Trail Pipe Band.
Here are brief recaps of this year’s inductees:
Trail Pipe Band
The Trail Pipe Band was formed circa 1924. The first known photo of the band is dated 1926 with the name “Trail Caledonia Society Pipe Band” on it.
Throughout its history the band has been sponsored by community groups or organizations and the band’s name has been changed to reflect this support. The band members have travelled widely throughout Southeast B.C. and Washington and Idaho states for community celebrations promoting the City of Trail.
Today the Trail Pipe Band continues these traditions with dedication and commitment to the City of Trail and are a significant part of our community’s culture and history.
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Thea Culley
Thea Culley began playing field hockey at Rossland Secondary School, and following graduation attended the University of Victoria where she continued to excel. From 2004-2006 she garnered CIS tournament all-star awards and was a member of the National Junior Field Hockey team.
In 2006 Culley played her first senior international game in Wales. Since then she has competed in many events including the Commonwealth Games in 2010, FIH World Cup and Olympic qualifiers, many national championships, the 2011 Pan-Am Games, and most recently winning bronze at the Pan-American Cup in Argentina with Culley scoring both goals in a 2-1 triumph over Chile. She was also awarded the 2013 Goal Scorer of the Year by Field Hockey Canada, scoring six times in 11 international matches.
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Todd Robinson
A Rossland-Trail Minor Hockey product, Todd Robinson has had one of the most successful and enduring careers in hockey.
The 35-year-old Trail native is the all-time leading scorer of the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks, where he also won the 1995 WHL Rookie of the Year, and led the league in scoring in the Hawks’ 1998 Memorial Cup winning season. He’s played for the Canadian National Hockey team, and in three different leagues.
Last season, Robinson led the playoff scoring, taking the Allen Americans to their first CHL title, and his fourth championship. He has been selected to seven all-star teams, league scoring champion five times, and MVP three times.
Robinson is one of the most prolific playmakers and has 361 goals and 1010 assists in 981 games in his pro career.
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Bruce LeRose
Bruce LeRose is recognized for is contribution to the profession of Law in British Columbia. Bruce is a partner in the Trail law firm of Thompson, LeRose and Brown.
Bruce graduated from the University of BC with a law degree in 1982. He has been president of the Kootenay Bar Association and represented the County of Kootenay at the BC Law Society from 2004 to 2012. Bruce was president of the Law Society in 2012, the only Kootenay lawyer in the history of the Law Society of BC to become president.
Bruce has also been very involved in his community as a board member of Columbia View Lodge, Sanctuary, the Rossland-Trail Golf Club, and has been President of the Colombo Lodge.
In 2001, he chaired the committee for the Trail Centennial Family Park and in 2007 he chaired the committee for the World Junior ‘A’ Hockey Challenge.
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Patrick Iannone
Patrick Iannone excelled at hockey from an early age, and went on to win a KIJHL title with the Beaver Valley Nitehawks as well as play four seasons in the Western Hockey League. Iannone also made a trip to the Memorial Cup when the Kootenay Ice won the WHL championship in 2000. His greatest success came internationally playing for Series A club teams in Italy from 2003 to 2013 and representing the Italian national team for seven of the 10 years he played.
As a member of Team Italia, Iannone won two Division 1 World Championships, in 2009 and 2011, and one silver medal in 2013. In the 2013 tournament, the 32-year-old Fruitvale native tied for second in tournament scoring and was selected as the best forward and the MVP by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
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Theresa Hanson (nee Hanlon)
Theresa Hanson was born in Trail and developed a love of basketball at an early age. She earned a scholarship to the Lewis and Clark University in Lewiston, Idaho. After graduation, she moved to Vancouver and eventually joined UBC as the Associate Director of Athletics in 2005.
In 2009, she attended the University Games in Serbia as a member of Canada’s mission staff. In 2013, she was appointed the Chef de Mission at the University Games in Kazan, Russia. Theresa has played a major role in the development of Canada’s participation in international university sport.
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Dr. Harold Menkes
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Dr. Harold Menkes attended the JL Crowe High School in the mid-1950’s. Following graduation Harold earning his medical degree in 1963 at UBC. Eventually he arrived at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland where he was also a professor in Pulmonary Medicine. There, he and wife, Marilyn, began to do research in occupational and environmental lung disease.
He made many highly significant contributions to research, having published 100 peer reviewed papers in highly respected medical journals.
Dr. Menkes and his wife were killed in a car accident in 1987. Following their death Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health established the Harold and Marilyn Menkes Memorial Lectureship.