Hall of Fame banquet heads west

From the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame

MARKHAM, ON -- "The Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame will take a big step to becoming truly national in scope when the Annual Induction Banquet for 2010 is held in Vancouver," said John Cooper, President of the Foundation that operates the Hall of Fame. "This is an exciting development for all of motorcycling and we expect the 2011 event to be in Montreal."

A local committee for the Vancouver event has been struck, and is now seeking a suitable venue. This year's event, the fourth annual, will be held Oct. 24 in Toronto.

"Inductees want to celebrate with their friends and family, and cross-Canada travel can be prohibitively expensive," observed Dave Lloyd, a Director of the Foundation and former Chair of the Selection Committee. "In fact, we had one inductee from the west who, while delighted at the selection, was not able to have anyone in attendance to receive and celebrate the recognition."

"In July last year (2008), the Board made a decision that 2009 would mark the beginning of a 'Central-West-East' pattern," said Peter Jacobs, Secretary to the Hall of Fame and President of the Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada, title sponsor of the Banquet.

The Toronto event was confirmed for 2009, and calls were made for "Expressions of Interest" from local groups to host the event in 2010 and 2011.

"Our goal was to have the destination and venue for the next year confirmed and ready to announce at the current banquet, or earlier," he said. "Vancouver stepped up, and we are thrilled at the enthusiasm shown."

The local committee is chaired by Kellee Irwin, Vice-President of the Foundation. Irwin is based in Vancouver. Committee membership is being expanded, and will include industry, the training community, collectors/curators, event management and the rider community.

"Our objective is to host this National event and add a local flavour," said Irwin. "There are numerous individuals and organizations in the West who are worthy of induction. It will be great to celebrate their achievements and contributions right here with all their friends and family."

Founded by Bar and Hedy Hodgson in 1999, the Canadian International Motorcycle Heritage Museum Foundation exists to preserve and protect Canadian motorcycle history for the benefit of the motorcycling community. They founded the Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2005, with the first inductions made in May of 2006.

The Motorcyclists Confederation of Canada (MCC) is the title sponsor of the Annual Induction Banquet, and has been since the Hall's inception. More than $100,000 has been contributed by MCC to operation of the Foundation.

The 2009 Hall of Fame Induction Banquet & Reunion will be held on Saturday evening, Oct. 24 at the Sheraton (formerly Renaissance) Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre, 801 Dixon Road in Toronto. The event, emceed by Pat Gonsalves, will feature an audio-visual presentation on each inductee, a display of special motorcycles, a silent auction to raise funds for the Foundation and, of course, a gourmet meal. A cash bar is offered.

Tickets are $125, with "deep discounts" for "early bird" purchase and MCC members. Tables of eight or 10 can be requested. Visit the websites for more details (www.motorcyclehalloffame.ca OR www.motorcycling.ca/halloffame).