LAC LA BICHE - Ken Staples and Etienne Vaillancourt are the inductees for the 2024 Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame.
Staples and Vaillancourt will be formally inducted for their contributions to sport in the Lac La Biche area during the ‘Celebration of Sports Excellence’ awards night, which is set to take place at Portage College on April 2.
Vaillancourt is being recognized as a community builder, while Staples is being awarded in both the athlete and community builder categories.
Staples has been a familiar face in the ice racing scene for the past four decades. Vaillancourt is actively involved with the Plamondon Volleyball Club (PVC), the annual Hockey en Fête tournament hosted in Plamondon every, as well as the Alberta Francophone Games.
A racer and builder
For Staples, being inducted into the Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame, is something he is very appreciative of.
“I feel very honoured to be recognized both as a racer and as a community builder,” he told Lakeland This Week.
A devoted ice racer who has been involved with racing cars at amateur and professional levels since the late 1960s, Staples was instrumental in starting up the Winter Festival of Speed, which was recently renamed the Lac La Biche Ice Festival.
“I moved to Lac La Biche in 1983 . . . I was an active racer then . . . and that’s why the following year, I brought the ice races to Lac La Biche, and I had a first Western Canadian Championship here,” he said.
Although he has had many accomplishments, he said the winter festival is his biggest achievement. To Staples, receiving this designation and being put into the local sports hall of fame means recognition of the impact and the value that the winter festival brings to Lac La Biche.
Staples has also been involved in the community through various volunteer endeavours.
After moving to Lac La Biche in the 1980s, he joined the Lac La Biche Lion’s Club and became its president. Staples is also a member of the McGrane #28 branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Lac La Biche.
“We have a lot of amazing people in this community and people know about some of them, but not about everyone,” he said. “Some people just kind of work quietly behind the scenes, and they’re not really seen, but regardless, the contribution they make to the community is significant.
A community builder
Vaillancourt also feels good about being inducted into the Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame as a community builder, and the honour brings a feeling of gratitude.
Getting here, he added, was only possible because of the help of others.
“I would not have received this award without the support of all the volunteers that are involved or were involved with PVC Wolfpack, Hockey en Fête and the Francophone Games,” he said. “It's also awesome to work with the youth and for the youth.”
Vaillancourt, who has called Lac La Biche County home since 2001, started the Hockey en Fête tournament in February of 2003 and the club volleyball team in 2007. He has been involved with the provincial Francophone Games since 2004. When Lac La Biche hosted the games in 2019 and 2024, Vaillancourt served as co-head of mission for Zone 5, which includes Lakeland communities such as Lac La Biche, Plamondon, St. Paul, Bonnyville, and Cold Lake.
When asked if being named as an inductee into the Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame came as a surprise to him, Vaillancourt replied by saying both yes and no.
“No, because my wife was asking me a bunch of questions regarding my involvement and finally, she had no choice but to have me sign the application. And yes, because even if you submit a name, you never know if you'll get in,” he said.
The Celebration of Sports Excellence, Vaillancourt continued, is important as it allows residents to have a better knowledge of what is happening in the community by putting a face to the people working behind the scenes.
“It's just a time to recognize the involvement of volunteers in the community,” he said.
A celebration
Staci Lattimer, manager of recreation and culture for Lac La Biche County, said the Celebration of Sports Excellence will be a fantastic evening to celebrate community contributors and athletes in sport.
Community builders, Lattimer explained, play a pivotal role in keeping sports going in the Lac La Biche area.
“Without the community builders - those who donate hundreds and in some cases thousands of hours to build up sport in our community - there wouldn’t be sports and recreational opportunities to keep people active, engaged and participating in sport. Many of these individuals likely witnessed or saw a gap in the community, they had a vision, and went to work to make it happen,” she said.
