Tantramar, NB – The six new Hall of Famers elected to the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame were announced today at a press conference held at Town of Tantramar. "We are very proud to announce the addition of these inspiring athletes and sport builders into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame" said Jane Arseneau, Board of Governors Chairperson. "We are also very excited to recognize the Town of Tantramar as the host community for our 54th annual Induction Gala." These six, who have made a lasting impact in their field of sport, will be inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame on June 1, 2024, at the Marjorie Young Bell Convocation Hall on Mount Allison University Campus. The achievements of these inductees will join the legacy of over 700 fellow Hall of Famers enshrined in the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame since it was formed in 1970. 2024 inductees include:
Joël Bourgeois of Grand-Digue, NB is a two-time Olympian, representing Canada in the 3,000-metre steeplechase in 1996 in Atlanta and 2000 in Sydney, Australia, won gold in the event at the 1999 Pan-American Games in Winnipeg. Overall, he captured 14 Canadian track and field championship titles in steeplechase, cross-country and road racing and was selected for national teams more than 50 times over his competitive career.
The late Louis Lawrence of Fredericton, NB is a member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame. He won Golden Gloves provincial championships as an amateur in Vancouver and won Western Canada and then National middleweight championships professionally in the 1950s.
Catharine Pendrel of Harvey Station, NB is a four-time Mountain Bike Olympian, she won bronze in the 2016 Games in Rio, recovering from an early crash in the race to do so. She’s a two-time world champion, a Commonwealth and Pan-American Games champion and is the current national mtb (mountain bike) team coach.
The late Jason Peters, of Saint John NB is being recognized as a Builder of Indigenous Sports. Jason played an instrumental role in the 2010 New Brunswick Indian Summer Games and was a two-time chef-de-mission for Team New Brunswick at the North American Indigenous Games. He was Inducted into the New Brunswick and North American Indigenous Sports Halls of Fame prior to his death in 2022.
Randy Wilson of Nackawic, NB has served for forty-three years in sport, provincially, nationally, and internationally, as a volleyball builder. His distinguished career includes becoming: a High-Performance Official (1996), a member of Volleyball Canada’s Referee Development Team (1998), and Chair of VNB Officials Association 2004-2014. He has built a reputation as a respected official, a teacher with a calm demeanor, and a leader who believed in the concept of trust and being a professional.
The late Heather Wilbur of Moncton, NB was a dominant player on the provincial women’s golf scene in the mid-1990s, a winner of the New Brunswick Women’s Amateur championship and female player of the year in the province from 1995 through 1998. New Brunswick female athlete of the year in 1997 before briefly turning pro on the FUTURES (now Epsom) tour circuit.
Tickets for the 54th annual Induction Gala may be purchased at the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame Offices or online now.
About the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame
The New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame is the lead authority in preserving and promoting New Brunswick's rich sporting heritage. As a non-government incorporated charity, run mostly by volunteers, we operate the only Sports Museum in New Brunswick. We celebrate the stories of New Brunswick's most inspiring athletes and leverage the power of sport to enrich lives and demonstrate the positive impact that sport and the community of the people involved in sport have in shaping the lives of our youth. By honouring our best, we inspire the rest!
Media Contact:
Jamie Wolverton, NBSHF Executive Director
ed@nbshf.ca 506-457-8841
