Abbey Vogt:
Sport – Soccer, track and field
School – Burnaby South

Olivia Bortolazzo:
Sport – Gymnastics.
School – St. Thomas More

Robert Couzens:
Sport – Boxing.
School – Burnaby North

Reynaldo Morales:
Sport – Football.
School – St. Thomas More

Manny Sobral founded the North Burnaby Boxing Club with a partner in march 2004. Since then the club has grown to 125 members and has won more than 20 championships including bronze, silver and golden gloves, Alberta golden gloves, Tacoma golden gloves, BC Provincial Championships and Canadian National Championships. He is also the coach of our scholarship recipient Robert Couzens, as stated a three time national champion.

Manny has also taught in the Burnaby school system, and in 2007 was named BC’s boxing coach of the year.

His background in coaching comes from experience. He was a three time Canadian amateur champion, competed at the 1988 Olympics and as a professional, compiled a 29 win, 2 loss record as Canadian super welterweight and IBO world super weight championship.

Frank Palmieri has been a volunteer soccer coach in Burnaby for more than 28 years, starting with Cliff Avenue in 1979. He also served on the Burnaby District Soccer Association for 15 years, five of those as chair.

During his coaching career his teams won nine coastal and provincials cups and he led two teams to two national championships. He still coaches today, the Burnaby Boys under 16 selects team and sits on the board of the Metro Selects Club.

Frank has spent countless hours donating his time and effort to benefit the community and in particular the sport he loves, soccer. He has received many awards for his contributions including recognition from the BC Soccer Association and the Burnaby District Soccer Association and tonight we add to that honour roll.

Lynn Mason was a founding family member of the Burnaby Winter Club, and in 2009, was inducted as an honorary member for his many contributions. An accomplished curler, he played a major part in organizing senior hockey at the club, including one of the most amazing tournaments in the world… a tournament for players 75 years and older, first held in 2009.

Organizing this kind of tournament is nothing new to Lynn who has been doing this sort of thing since the early 60s. Today he still looks after the seniors hockey at the club and has about 100 participants that play at different times in age group sessions. The beginning of senior hockey has grown throughout the province and Lynn Mason has played a major role in it.

Alex McKechnie’s our gain and Scotland’s loss. After graduating from Leeds School of Physiotherapy, England in 1974, Alex migrated to Vancouver and to SFU where he accepted the position of head physiotherapist for the varsity athletic program. It was at SFU that he cut his teeth in sports medicine overseeing all the school’s sports team.

At the same time he became the team physiotherapist for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League as well as team physiotherapist for the 1976 Canadian Olympic soccer team and the CONCAF Gold Cup Champions in 2000.

After four years at SFU, he opened a private practice in Burnaby and the beat went on, consultant to the Vancouver Canucks, physio to various soccer clubs at the national level and Burnaby lacrosse teams.

Alex’s demanding rehab programs have prolonged the careers of countless athletes from all levels of sport, many of which can call Burnaby home. In 2003 he sold his business to become athletic performance co-ordinator to the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA.

How about this for a record: 80 wins, 13 losses. That’s the boxing record of our athlete inductee, Des Archer. Coached by Hall of Fame member, the late Harry Twist,

Des began boxing at age 13 across from the old Burnaby Oak Theatre. He would go on to win Diamond Boy, Provincial, bronze, silver and Golden Gloves titles both here and throughout the pacific northwest. In 1953 he won his weight class at the Canadian Championships.

Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Des joined the RCMP in 1953 but continued to box on amateur cards and continued to win titles as well as coach. He retired from both in 1964.