Saugeen Shores Hall of Fame - Class of 2015:  Jeff Smith, Gord Lamont, Evan Porter and Rick Carr.
Photo by Jordan McKinnon
Saugeen Shores Hall of Fame - Class of 2015: Jeff Smith, Gord Lamont, Evan Porter and Rick Carr. Photo by Jordan McKinnon
Midwestern

Saugeen Shores Hall of Fame Inducts 5 More

Five new members have entered the Saugeen Shores Hall of Fame.The Hall welcomed its class of 2015, which includes athletes Jeff Smith, Rick Carr and Evan Porter, as well as former professional hockey player Hillis Paddon, who was inducted posthumously.

Smith worked more than 2,000 professional hockey games in his career as a referee, including from 2001 until 2006 in the National Hockey League.

The Port Elgin native says it was the support of the community that got him to hockey's highest level.

"It feels really good to come back to town and see the people that I've grown up with and the people that helped me get where I got. I didn't get there because of anything I did, I got there because people in this room gave back and gave me the opportunity to do something I wanted to do, so all my thanks go to them," says Smith.

The duo of Carr and Porter have competed at the Paralympics and World Championships in track and field events.   Carr is blind and Porter serves as his guide runner.

Carr says he did not begin competing until he was 32 years old and was a pack-a-day smoker at the time, but says his wife urged him to give athletics a shot after watching the Paralympics on television.

He says people with disabilities are just as capable as anybody else.

"You just have to get out and do something. You can overcome [your disability], you just have to put your mind to it.   That's what I did.  You can't just sit around feeling sorry for yourself or you're not going to get anywhere," says Carr.

Even though he's a hall of famer and will turn 43 next month, Carr says he's focusing on qualifying for this summer's Parapan-Am Games in Toronto.

The Hall of Fame class also included Saugeen Shores Winterhawks President Gord Lamont, who was inducted in the community builder category.

Lamont says he got involved in volunteer efforts early in his life because his parents were active volunteers, so he naturally followed suit.

He says if you're looking to get involved in your community, look for things to do that you think would be fun and it will be worth it.

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