LAC LA BICHE – Athletes who play on the Portage College Voyageurs golf, soccer, futsal, hockey and curling teams, along with Lac La Biche County residents Ken Staples and Etienne Vaillancourt, were awarded and recognized for their work and dedication to sport during the annual ‘Celebration of Sports Excellence,’ on April 2.
The event took place at the Portage College Lac La Biche campus and is a joint venture between Portage College and Lac La Biche County.
Staples and Vaillancourt were the inductees for the 2024 Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame and were honoured for their contributions to sport in the local community.
Vaillancourt was recognized as a community builder, while Staples was 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, as well as the Alberta Francophone Games.
The evening of sports celebration kicked off with speeches by dignitaries, including Lac La Biche County Mayor Paul Reutov and Bev Moghrabi, vice president, student college services at Portage College.
Following dinner, Staples and Vaillancourt, along with the Portage College athletes, walked up to the stage to receive their awards.
Staples
Staples stated that he feels both “honoured” and flattered” to be recognized by his community.
For Staples, being inducted into the Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame means not only being recognized for racing, but also the work he has put into organizing and developing the Winter Festival of Speed, now known as the Lac La Biche Ice Festival, and seeing it through for the past 42 years.
“I’ve received other awards from other racing organizations, but to get the recognition within your community and the people that you know, it means a lot,” he said.
Vaillancourt
Vaillancourt also felt honoured, happy and excited to be inducted into the Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame.
“It’s a celebration of all the time that I’ve put towards the community, towards youth sport,” he said.
Soccer players
Among the Portage College athletes who received awards at the 2025 Celebration of Sports excellence were Patrick Moreira and Brooklyn Haub, who play for the Voyageurs’ men’s and women’s soccer squads.
Moreira and Haub both received the player of the year awards.
For Haub, who plays defense with the Voyageurs, but also sometimes plays as a midfielder and striker, receiving the award made her feel very appreciative.
“It feels amazing . . . I love the college . . . I’m super grateful, super happy,” she said.
Moreira is a central midfielder on the Voyageurs’ men’s squad and was very excited about being named player of the year.
“It’s very nice to win an award and be appreciated for what I’ve done,” he stated.
Playing as a member of the Portage College Voyageurs, Moreira said, has been a very good experience.
“I feel like the team’s come a long way, and I feel like next year, we’re going to be even better, so I’m really happy to be a part of this program,” he said.
Rookie award
Brenan Rosychuk, who grew up in the Lac La Biche area, and has been involved with golfing for many years, was named Rookie of the Year for the Portage College golf team.
“Being from here, golfing here my whole life, it’s great to get this award,” Rosychuk said.
MacDonald Brothers
Clint Trimble and the MacDonald Brothers (Robbie, James, Alex, and Bernard) were the inductees for the 2023 Lac La Biche County Sports Hall of Fame. While Trimble and his family were present to receive the award during last year’s Celebration of Sports Excellence, due to the passing of Robbie MacDonald’s son, Billy McDonald, the award for the MacDonald Brothers, who are veterans of the region’s rodeo industry, was postponed until this year.
During the April 2 event, relatives of the family were in attendance to receive the MacDonald Brothers’ award.
Benefits of awards
Bev Moghrabi, vice president, student college services at Portage College, said the Celebration of Sports Excellence is beneficial for both the college and the community.
“I think that celebrating sports at the college and within the community is good for the college spirit, it’s good for the community spirit, it brings that dedication, persistence, all the things that we value, and it gets the community going,” Moghrabi said.
