It was a night of fun and laughter, but mostly it honoured some major contributors to sports in the Humboldt community. The Humboldt and District Sports Hall of Fame banquet was held on November 10 at the Humboldt Uniplex. Six individuals and one team were inducted into the Hall of Fame, due to their contributions to different sports in the Humboldt district. "On behalf of the city, I would like to thank the Hall of Fame inductees for their contribution to sports," said Malcolm Eaton, mayor of Humboldt. "The city takes great pride in recognizing your achievements." The first inductee was Al Gaetz, for his contribution as a hockey builder. He has been an influence in the development and success if the Humboldt Broncos and the SJHL as a board member, office manager and general manager. In 1977, Gaetz was instrumental in planning and building the Uniplex.In 1994, he alsoinitiated the first major Bronco combine lottery to bring the team out of financial crisis. In 1997, the SJHL gave him the Bill Shinske Memorial Builder Award. "It is a great honour to be inducted," said Gaetz in his acceptance speech. He highlighted some of his major achievements and great memories being involved in hockey. "I had a great time and made lots of good friends... we can reminisce about hockey and the good old days," said Gaetz. He thanked everyone for coming out to support him, especially his family. Next was Isidore Strueby, who was inducted as builder in the sport of baseball due to his heavy involvement with the Marysburg Royals baseball team. He joined the Royals in 1947 as a player. In the 1980s, Strueby became the coach and manager of the team, winning the North Central Baseball league title nine times. In 1989, Strueby was awarded the NCBL Presidents' Award for promoting baseball and in 1990 was named Saskatchewan Baseball Association Manager of the Year. Although he retired in 1995 after 52 years with the Royals, he can still be found in the stands watching his sons and grandsons' games. Strueby thanked the Sports Hall of Fame for the honour, saying his involvement wouldn't have been possible without the support of his family. "Thank you to my family," said Strueby. "They did a lot of work to help (me)... thank you to my wife for 58 years of following me curling, to hockey, baseball - never once did she say, 'Isidore, why don't you quit?'" Dennis Korte was inducted as both an official and a builder for baseball. He grew up playing baseball in Muenster and was a member of the Muenster Red Sox. In 1970, Korte joined the Humboldt Mustangs and was involved in the development of the baseball complex in Centennial Park.He started umpiring in 1972, at both the zone and provincial levels and was a nationally certified umpire course conductor. He was also a National Umpire Supervisor for Baseball Canada from 1980 to 1984 and a scout for the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves from 1990 to 2003. This wasn't his first induction into a Hall of Fame - in 2000, Korte was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame. Korte is also a member of the Humboldt and District Sports Hall of Fame committee. "I missed a couple meetings and here I stand," joked Korte. He thanked everyone he played for and against, especially his fellow inductees and his family. "Thank you for this honour," said Korte. "I enjoyed every minute in baseball." Nadia Stevenson was inducted as an official and builder in the sport of figure skating. She was the first inductee for this sport. While living in Humboldt from 1962 to 2004, Stevenson was a member of Skate Humboldt and Skate Canada. While acting as a judge and evaluator for 25 years, she achieved National Level Accounting Status in 1980. She has achieved numerous awards for her service and contributions to figure skating including Saskatchewan Figure Skating Volunteer Recognition award in 1981, the Canadian Figure Skating Volunteer of the Year award in 1992, the Community Sport Achievement award in 1993 and the Skate Canada Officials' Award of Excellence in 2004. "I am honoured to be the first inductee of figure skating in Humboldt skating history," said Stevenson. Stevenson became involved in figure skating as a parent of an athlete and enjoyed every minute of volunteering. Joe Fischl was inducted as an official for hockey. He started officiating hockey in 1975 and refereed for over 35 years for all levels from novice to SJHL. He coaches and mentors young officials from the Humboldt area. His highest achievement has been obtaining his Level 4 hockey official status from Hockey Canada and was awarded Most Deserving from the Saskatchewan Hockey Association in 2003 for service and dedication to the sport. Although he retired from active officiating in 2007, Fischl continued as an assignor for many leagues and associations. "Thanks to the Humboldt and District Sports Hall of Fame," said Fischl. He was thankful for all his time on the ice as a referee and enjoyed meeting people and making friends through his efforts. Richard Muench was inducted as an official and builder for both hockey and baseball. As a young man, he was a baseball pitcher and coach in Muenster. He helped form the Carlton Trail Youth Baseball league, assisted in the Saskatchewan Baseball Association Annual summer baseball camps at St. Peter's College and helped form the Humboldt Fireballs Twilite Baseball team. When he wasn't coaching or playing, Muench was umpiring. In the winters, Muench turned his attention to hockey. In the 1950s, he helped establish the Humboldt and District Hockey league as a referee-in-chief and secretary-treasurer. In the 1960s and 1970s, he became a SAHA A-rated referee and worked many local games at different levels. "The museum is full of antiques and I think I qualify," Muench joked when accepting his award. He put many years into both hockey and baseball. During his acceptance speech, he told a few funny stories and thanked the Hall of Fame for the honour, and his family. "Without the support of my family, I would never be up here today," said Muench. Greg Mamer, Robert Revering, Rod Lessmeister, Scott Lessmeister and Sue Mamer were inducted into the Hall of Fame as members of the 1990 Vanier Cup Champion University of Saskatchewan Huskies team. All five are originally from Lake Lenore. The four men played on the team and Sue Mamer was one of the team trainers. Greg Mamer spoke on behalf of the team members, thanking everyone for their support. "We feel very honoured to be inducted," said Mamer. "If anyone would have told us we would be honoured by a group of people in Humboldt, we would have never believed them," he joked.
