This was another challenging yet eventful and successful year for our Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum (MBHOFM). The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of the Duckworth Centre at the University of Winnipeg for much of the last year. The following were the highlights:
- the closure of our site saw the visitor count reduced to 3093, well below the usual number
- our 18th Induction Dinner that was planned for September 25, 2021, was postponed and is re-scheduled for October 1, 2022. The following individuals and teams will be inducted :
- PLAYERS: Shawn Gray and Joanne Wells-Small
- BUILDERS: Manny Aranez, Ray Hurd, John Klassen and Randy Kusano
- TEAMS:
- Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate Raiders Varsity Boys,1982-83,1983-84,
- 1985-86; 1988-89
- Treherne Collegiate Tigers Varsity Girls, 1994-95, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000; 2002-2003
- the continued growth of our heritage inventory collection; this year we saw some new additions of uniforms and other memorabilia
- the further organization of all printed materials and photographs in our collection with the use of labelled hanging folders and vertical magazine racks in a new storage cabinet
- the first grant from our endowment fund through the Manitoba Heritage Trust Fund and the Winnipeg Foundation where we raised funds to ensure our long-term sustainability
- we continued to qualify as a Level 1 Museum by the Community Museum Grants Program which results in an annual grant
- revised induction guidelines and nomination applications
- based on our involvement in a stewardship project with the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, we now have a Collections Policy, an Incoming Loan Conditions Form, an Outgoing Loan Agreement Form, and a Gift Agreement Form
- our continued membership in the Association of Manitoba Museums
- our financial situation remains solid; we are committed to investing our revenues directly into our Hall of Fame site and the basketball community in general
- Manitoba is still the only province in Canada that has a permanent site for a basketball hall of fame
- Our MBHOFM is usually open every day during the year except for statutory holidays. It is open
- from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily depending on the pandemic.
- The members of our organizing committee are:
- Ross Wedlake (Chair), Vic Pruden (Past Chair), Janet McMahon (Treasurer), Jerry Ilchyna, Wes Crymble, Morris Glimcher, Jerry Hemmings, Carol Ploen-Hosegood, Ken Opalko, Susan Johnson, Coleen Dufresne, Kyla Shore, Tyler Crayston, Ted Stoesz, and Adam Wedlake (Recording Secretary - Ex-Officio).
- For 2022-23 the following are planned:
- the creation of a third action photo collection depicting the history of basketball in Manitoba
- further organization of our heritage collection and a connection to the MUSETOBA collections management database project system
- repairs to our museum's floor surface
Respectfully submitted by
Ross Wedlake, Chair, MBHOFM