Dorothy Hamill to speak at WESPY awards dinner
Vick444~No
She won an Olympic gold medal in figure skating in 1976,
created a new move in her sport and triggered a fashion
trend with her 'bobbed' hairstyle.
Dorothy Hamill even had a Barbie Doll created in her
image and this fall she'll become the first female
keynote speaker at the 4th annual Windsor Essex County
Sports Persons of the Year Awards banquet.
This year's awards, which also picked up a new title
sponsor in Millionaire Mortgage, will be held Oct. 7 at
the Caboto Club.
I look forward to attending the dinner and speaking at
the WESPY awards," Hamill said in a released statement.
"I am honoured to be the first female keynote speaker and
look forward to seeing you all in the fall and meeting
the athletes and teams who have worked so hard."
Hamill, who also won a world championship and three U.S.
titles, continues to skate in Broadway on Ice and teaches
skating. The 51-year-old Chicago native released her
autobiography, A Skating Life: My Story, last October.
Hamill, who now lives in Baltimore, remains one of the
most well-known female athletes of the past 40 years with
a story that appeals beyond the sports community.
"When we look for a keynote speaker we want someone who
can also bring us a message," WESPY's founder Dominic
Papa said.
"Someone who can inspire our athletes, teams and coaches.
Dorothy has done it all.
"She was the best at what she did and she's also had some
tragedies in her life and is now battling breast cancer.
"It speaks volumes of her. Why wouldn't anyone want to
hear what she has to say?"
In addition to Hamill, Friday's press conference also saw
the announcement of the creation of the Mickey Renaud
Leadership Award.
The award was created to honour the memory of the Windsor
Spitfires captain, who died at 19 years of age last
winter.
"This is quite an honour for us (Windsor Spitfires
organization) and the Renaud family, who fully give their
blessing to this award," Spitfires general manager Warren
Rychel said.
"To carry on his legacy in this fashion and have Mickey
represented in this way is special. From having Mickey
around in our room, this young man was special. We miss
him and we're going to try and win a championship for
him."
The other new wrinkle to the live broadcast of the WESPYs
on AM 800 Radio and Cogeco Cable 11 is the addition of
Sportsnet anchor Martine Gaillard as a co-host. Gaillard
will share the duties with local lawyer Pat Ducharme and
Kara Ro.
"I have to admit I'd never heard of the WESPYs before,"
Gaillard said in teleconference call.
"But when I spoke to Dom about the awards, I knew being
from a small town myself, I had to get on board with
this. I think they're a great idea."
Tickets for this year's event remain at $100 per person
or a table of 10 can be purchased for $900. Tickets can
be purchased at the website gamedaysports.ca
Nominations and voting for athletes, teams and coaches
can also be done on the same website.
http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=f5b9d9d1-67d6-404f-ab3b-73bda59046a2