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By Brian Totzke For the Chronicle Hockey may be Canada's signature sport and Mark Scheifele, a member of the Winnipeg Jets and Team Cana- da, may have been selected as our region's top athlete for 2016, but diversity was the name of the game at the Athlete of the Year (AOY) awards last week. Scheifele, who's participation at the IIHF world championship for the second consecutive year preclud- ed him from attending the annual awards ceremony, thanked both the committee and the crowd via video. "I just want to say from the bot- tom of my heart that it is a real hon- our to win this award," he said The Kitchener native praised both Kitchener Minor Hockey and this area's entire volunteer sports programs in his remarks. He also tipped his hat to the diverse talents of his fellow nominees which includ- ed Alec Elliot (swimming), Darryl Fitzgerald (lawn bowling), Alyssa Lagonia (soccer), Jamal Murray (bas- ketball), Garrett Rank (golf/NHL ref- eree), Dhane Smith (lacrosse) and Kevin Sorley (sledge hockey). It was obvious from the smile on the face of organizer Ken Brooks that this event has blossomed into what he and fellow co-founder John Thompson hoped it would become when conceived two decades ago. Brooks, Thompson, award com- mittee chair Jean Howitt and their committee members take particular pride in highlighting lesser known sports, as well as the accomplish- ments of amateur athletes. In fact, 11 AOY recipients have been amateurs including Dana Ellis (pole vaulting) in 2004 and Tyler Miller (wheelchair basketball) in 2012. "Next year marks the 20th anni- versary of the Athlete of the Year," said Brooks, "so a special celebration is being planned. "It'll include an Alumni Celebra- tion with invitations to past recipi- ents and nominees including Lennox Lewis, Scott Stevens, Kelly Vander- Beek, Colin Doyle, Mandy Bujold, Andrew Poje and Kaitlin Weaver, Sarah Pavan …" Talk about diversity of talent. "Save the date. It'll be on May 16, 2018 in the Bingeman's Ballroom and it'll be special," said Brooks. Scheifele, who played on the top line for Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey with Edmon- ton Oilers star Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs rookie sensa- tion Auston Matthews last Septem- ber, was also part of the Canadian team that won gold at the 2016 world championship in Russia. The 24-year-old centre notched 32 goals and 82 points for the Jets this past season. He's a student of Hall of Famer Adam Oates, a private coach who espouses both skills and hockey smarts in his teachings. Like many others present, Scheifele gives back to the commu- nity. He's an ambassador for Kid- Sport Winnipeg, an organization that supports young people in need of financial assistance in order to participate. The evening also featured three Award of Excellence recipients for individual, organizational and team contributions to the community. Bruce Young was the individual award winner. Young has been part of minor softball for more than two decades as coach, convener, execu- tive member and host for provincial and national tournaments. The Waterloo Regional Boxing Academy received the organization- al award. Its contributions include an after-school program, a senior's fitness program and a high school credit recovery program. They also support the Children's Wish Founda- tion. Lewis, the former Heavyweight champion of the world, is an alum- nus. The Kitchener Minor Baseball Bantam Tier I team, under the lead- ership of coach Chris Bishop, collect- ed more than 5,000 pounds of food and $1,600 for several food drives in 2016. The winner for the Team cat- egory also developed "Baseball Day" to help promote the game locally and sent used baseball equipment to countries less fortunate. V O L U N T E E R I N G S U P P O R T I N G L O C A L I N I T I A T I V E S H E L P I N G H A N D C O N T R I B U T E T O F U T U R E G E N E R A M E N T O R S C O E N T R E P R E N E U R S V O L U N T E E R I N G D E V E L O P M E N T T I V A T E D S T I M U L A T E D E N C O U R A G E D I D E A S F I N E S T E X A M P L E L E A D E R S H I P F U T U R E B E L I E F A S S I O N P A Y I N G I T F O R W A R D V I B R A N C Y W E L C O M I N G T M O S P H E R E Q U A L I T Y O F L I F E I N I T I A T I V E S B E T T E R O U R C O M M U N I T Y M O B I L I Z I N G P E O P L E S U P P O R T W O R T H Y A U S E S U R P A S S E D F U N D R A I S I N G G O A L S C O M M U N I T Y W E L L - B E I N G G E N E R O S I T Y A T I O N E N T H U S I A S M I N S P I R E S O T H E R S G I V E S B A C K C A R I N G C O M M U N I T Y D R I V I N G F O R C E A D V O C A T E C O M M I T T E D C O M M U N I T Y L E A D E R I M P R E S S I V E C R E D E N T I A L S " C A N D O " A T T I T U D E P A S S I O N M A K I N G A D I F F E R E N C E I N S T R U M E N T A L S U P P O R T C O L L A B O R A T I V E A P P R O A C H S T R E N G T H E N E N H A N C E R O L E M O D E L C H A L L E N G E S L E A D E R S H I P I N S P I R E D R E S O L V E C O M M I T M E N T B E T T E R I N G P H I L A N T H R O P I S T C H A M P I O N V I B R A N T C U L T U R A L C O M M U N I T Y P U B L I C R E L A T I O N S C O M P A S S I O N D I S T I N G U I S H E D B E Y O N D WHO ARE THE IMPACTFUL LEADERS & INNOVATORS YOU KNOW WHO HAVE MADE LIFE BETTER IN WATERLOO? NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY. NOMINATION DEADLINE JUNE 26 WATERLOO.CA/ WATERLOOAWARD T I N G L O C A L T I V E S H E L P I N G H A N D C O N T R I B U T E T O F U T U R E G E N E R A T I O N S M E N T O R S C O A C H E S E N T R E P R E N E U R S V O L U N T E E R I N G D E V E L O P M E N T T E D S T I M U L A T E D O U R C O M M U N I T Y M O B I L I Z I N G P E O P L E S U P P O R C A U S E S U R P F U N D R A I S I N G G O C O M M U N I T Y W E L L - B E I N G G E N E R O S I T Y D E D I C A E N T H U S I A S M I N S P I R E S O ...she has made significant contributions & has helped make Waterloo, particularly Uptown Waterloo, the vibrant, caring community we all love... WATERLOO AWARD Thursday, May 25, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 25 Diversity of sports shown off at Athlete of the Year awards banquet Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele named 2016 Athlete of the Year after break-out 2016-2017 campaign Mark Scheifele, a centre with the Winnipeg Jets, was named Waterloo Region's Athlete of the Year last week. He was in competition with seven other athletes from seven different sports. ToRonTo STAR File pHoTo