Mark Hume, the National Correspondent to the Globe and Mail wrote the following about our next inductee who is entering the Hall as a Builder in the sport of rugby: "To thrive, a sport needs dedicated players; it needs skilled coaches; it needs supportive parents. But it also needs to have someone like George Jones, someone to remind everyone that while winning is important, playing for the sheer love of the game is more important. Individuals like that are all too rare in any sport - and when found, they should be treasured."

George has been involved in rugby all his life and his accomplishments are amazing. As a young man he played both Club and Representative Rugby, and over the years he served as a Captain for 11 different clubs in 4 different provinces. With his playing days behind him, George dove into coaching, administration, fundraising and building, and in the past 40 years he has left a formidable legacy.

George gave thousands of hours both in volunteer positions and through pro bono legal assistance to various clubs and teams in Eastern Canada and locally, including the Vancouver Island Rugby Union, the Crimson Tide, the UVIC Tour of Ireland, Shamrocks Lacrosse, the Junior "A" Cougars, Victoria Athletic Boxing Commission, James Bay Athletic Association and the Velox Valhallians.

George always understood how to enable his visions and bring people together to make a dream a reality . He was a Founding member of the University Heights Athletic Association, Rugby Canada Men's and Women's Players Associations, the Commonwealth Games Society, the National Sports Committee and the Braefoot Athletic Association among others.

Ray Parks, Director of the Braefoot Community Association, recently stated "Mr. Jones demonstrated great vision and courage by personally committing funds to build the Braefoot facility, followed by approximately two decades of service at the board level, delivering a variety of opportunities to young people in the region. His contribution is enormous as thousands of our youth have benefited from the facility and the many scholarships and programs he helped create. George Jones is a true leader and visionary with passion and commitment."

One of George's stellar achievements was as a founder of the Rugby Canada Foundation as he found a donor who launched the Foundation through a million dollar donation. The Foundation continues to grow and is now funding rugby grants throughout the country. Within the Foundation there is a George F. Jones Scholarship that is designed to help those who may not have a chance for rugby success without some financial assistance. The award is offered country wide, reflecting both George's travels across the country, and his belief that the Foundation is about serving Canadian Rugby, coast to coast. George's award is given to a person with tremendous potential to positively influence the direction of rugby in the future. He believes that rugby is a great sport for all Canadians no matter where they are from or what their background.

Over all these years of unflagging dedication, George has had a profound impact on Victoria's sports scene. In fact you would be hard pressed to find a kid in the last twenty years, in any sport in the Greater Victoria region, that has not benefited from George's vision, money, time, talent and knowledge.

SPONSORED BY THE VELOX VALHALLIANS RUGBY CLUB

Joe Iannarelli was in Victoria in January 1961 as he entertained a pair of job offers. One was in Newfoundland and the other in Esquimalt. He remembers calling his wife long distance from Victoria saying, "I'm at the Empress Hotel. The grass is green, the sun is shining. Which job should I take?" It was a no-brainer and Joe started his amazing run as the Manager of the Esquimalt Municipal Sports Centre in a career that had an impact on thousands of youngsters in Greater Victoria.

Joe came to the local sporting world after many years as a nomadic hockey player. He started the game as a youngster, taking turns sharing a pair of second-hand skates with his two brothers. Joe soon developed into a fine skater, known for his passing ability and his playmaking skill. At 18, he was invited to a tryout and he wound up with a junior team in Kitchener, where one of his teammates was a local boy by the name of Howie Meeker. For the next 20 seasons, he played for teams in Canada and the US and in 1946 he got close to the National Hockey League through an invitation to the Detroit Red Wings' training camp. One of the other prospects was a kid from Saskatchewan named Gordie Howe.

The next few years saw Joe combining his hockey career with management and coaching positions with a number of organizations back east before getting the plum job in Esquimalt. He would spend the following two decades as manager of the Municipal Sports Centre. Joe was so much more than a "sit at the desk" administrator, and his dynamic, hands-on approach created a rich environment for the parents and kids of his community.

During his tenure, Joe organized and directed the first Hockey Summer School on Vancouver Island and he grew the School from 20 to over 600 players. Notably, two of his young skaters, Rick LaPointe and Ron Grahame went on to successful NHL careers. Joe was also instrumental in creating a hockey league with teams from the army, navy and university, as well as a team sponsored by an auto dealer called the Pontiac Chiefs.

A newspaper article published just a few years after the opening of the Sports Centre extolled the accomplishments that Joe had initiated. The families of Esquimalt now had a place of common interest where mom and dad could curl, junior could play hockey, and his sister could go to a skating party. Tiny tots skating drew more than 700 parents and kids, and figure skating and curlinggrew in popularity.

There was so much more happening in the building. Joe oversaw fall fairs by the Victoria Kinsmen Club, Jaycees teenage driving rodeos, dog and cat shows, roller skating, a world championship badminton tournament, and teen dances in the summer, among thousands of other events.

Joe's tremendous efforts over the decades have left his mark in the development of so many sports including hockey, curling, figure skating, broomball and golf, and his positive impact on so many thousands of youngsters is impossible to calculate.

SPONSORED BY CORIX