Skip to content

Wide range of talent to be inducted on monument

Home of Champions monument ceremony on Saturday

Trail will add 11 more deserving names to its growing roster of champions in a special ceremony on Saturday.

It has been four years since the Greater Trail Home of Champions Society added 13 names to the Home of Champions monument on Farwell Street.

The registry is a record of those individuals, teams and organizations honoured for their special contribution to the area and this year’s cast includes organizers, coaches, athletes, scientists and musicians.

This will be the fifth induction since the monument was established in 1996 and will bring the total to 128 names.

“Decisions are made as the nominations come in, so if we get two or three the board will decide but we usually wait until there’s a decent number before we have the ceremony,” explained organizer Jamie Forbes.

At the induction ceremony, each inductee will be recognized with a brief biography of their unique accomplishments and a presentation from the City of Trail.

The ceremony will commence at 1 p.m. in the Cominco Gym and is open to the public.

The inductees include:

• James Anderson played hockey for the Trail Senior Smoke Eaters in the late 1930’s and 40’s but his biggest contribution to hockey in B.C. and Canada came as the chairman of the B.C. Amateur Hockey Association (BCAHA) Rule Committee and Referee in Chief as well as the western Canada representative on the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) Rule Committee.

• Nello Angerilli was born and raised in Trail and following graduation at Crowe he moved on to Simon Fraser University where he eventually received a Masters degree in Biological Sciences in 1978. A self-described “behavioural ecologist,” his ground breaking work shows how the evolution of animal behaviour, particularly those behaviours mediated by smell, provides selective advantage or can be manipulated in order to minimize or eliminate the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture.

• Darla Crispin studied piano under the tutelage of fellow ‘Champion’ Helen Dahlstrom.

The Trail pianist received her Doctoral degree in Musicology in London, Eng. where she began teaching at the Royal College as head of Graduate programs in 2002.  Crispin performs and lectures throughout Europe, has released numerous CD recordings and is widely published. In 2009, Charles, Prince of Wales awarded Crispin an Honourary Doctorate for her contributions in the field of music.

•John Barron John was born in Trail in 1939.  Following graduation from Crowe he attended the University of Toronto studying music education.  There, he fell in love with choirs and obtained his Masters in music.  In1985, John founded the Anabile Youth Singers a choir that went on to win numerous awards at CBC’s bi-annual competition. In 2008, John was awarded the Order of Canada by Governor General Michaelle Jean, our Country’s highest civilian honour.

•Frank Turik grew up in Trail and was a member of the Trail Junior team that played in the Memorial Cup in 1944. He went on to win the Cup with the St. Michaels College the next year, netting three hat tricks in five games. Turik had a tryout with the Montreal Canadiens but returned to Trail to play with the Smoke Eaters for the next 12 years including the Allan Cup team in 1960 and the ’61 Smokies, however he did not travel to Europe. Frank passed away in 2009.

• Rhonda Michallik of Fruitvale, made a substantial impact on the art of dance in the Greater Trail area as a dance instructor, choreographer and role model for hundreds of emerging dancers and athletes. Michallik started the Steps Dance Company and her passion for dance and her leadership has been a source of inspiration for many students who have chosen to dance professionally around the world.

• Joanne Cutler (nee Nutini) excelled at basketball, first at Crowe and then the University of Victoria, where she quickly became starting centre on the university’s basketball team.  The UVic women won the 1987 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) championships and she was selected to the CIS National Championship All-Star team in the 1988 tournament. Cutler currently teaches in North Vancouver and continues to be involved in basketball as a coach.

• Dave Secco distinguished himself as an athlete, playing soccer for the University of Victoria in the late 70’s. The Rossland native played in two CIS National Championships, was selected to the western all-star team three times, and in his final year at UVic was named to the first team all-star Canadian team. Dave has since dedicated his time volunteering and working with youth in soccer.

• Colleen Moffat (nee McCarthy) excelled as a pitcher in Trail women’s softball. She pitched for B.C.’s representative in four Canadian’s Women’s Softball Championships and pitched for Team Canada in the 1972 World Championship. She appeared in numerous provincial and national championships at every level, and continues to devote her skills in developing players at both the senior and minor levels of women’s softball.

• Mike Mondin is an instructor at J. L. Crowe where he devoted his time coaching youth in a variety of sports. He obtained his National Coach Certificate and was soon appointed coach of the B.C. representative in the Canada Winter Games as well as numerous other international hockey tournaments on behalf of Team Canada.  Mondin also coached the Trail Smoke Eaters from 2000-06 and in 2007, he was appointed guest coach of Canada’s Sledge Hockey Team, winning a gold medal at the IPC World Championships. Mondin was assistant coach of Canada’s sledge hockey team that participated in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver before moving into the current head coaching role.

• George Grey began cross-country skiing in his hometown of Rossland at an early age and by the time he was 19 was skiing with the Canadian National Team in Canmore. Grey represented Canada at numerous international cross-country skiing events and in a highly competitive sport dominated by European teams, he began to excel in the relay and sprint events, finishing in the top half of the World Cup fields. In 2006 and 2010 he was a member of Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy and Whistler.