On Saturday, June 13th, 2009 over 300 friends and family celebrated as Marianne King-Wilson, W. John Young, James “Frosty” Hannon, and Raymond W. Barks, were each inducted into the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, honouring their contributions to sports in Parry Sound. Each Inductee was profiled in a DVD tribute and was presented with a personalized Bobby Orr Hall of Fame Jersey and an engraved piece of Georgian Bay stone. Jackson Kuhn was presented the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame Top Defenseman Award followed by his very emotional thank you speech. Following the Inductee presentations, Tom Cochrane took the stage playing a four-song acoustic performance for the crowd. The evening was capped with a few words from Bobby Orr congratulating all of the Inductees. The Inductees, Bobby Orr, and Tom Cochrane graciously signed autographs for the crowd topping off what many have declared as a “perfect” evening. Thank you to all who came to support our Inductees and the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. Please watch for information on next year’s event.

James ‘Frosty’ Hannon was born in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. He moved to Parry Sound in 1961 to work with CN Railway and has since been known to everyone who has anything to do with hockey in Parry Sound. If there was hockey being played in town, you would find Jim there. Any level, Atoms to Juvenile, House League to All Star, Junior C and A, and even Old-timers, Frosty had a presence at the arena. Frosty started his association with Parry Sound Hockey in the late 60’s as a chauffer for teams for Alex Eager. He has been a key influence in the development of players over the years. His many roles as trainer, councilor, supply clerk, laundry and dry cleaner, driver and advisor have aided players, teams, coaches, and parents. Many players, boarding far from home looked to Frosty as one of the three marked ‘reserved’ seats in the spectator’s box as he attends almost every minor hockey game to this day. He is hockey’s biggest fan in Parry Sound.

Marianne King-Wilson

Marianne arrived in Parry Sound at the age of 18 months, attended school here and left to pursue her career. During her business career she became a leader in the field of consumer affairs, both within the worldwide company she worked for and among her fellow professionals. Before returning full time to Parry Sound in 1996, Marianne participated in the community, arranging two school reunions and several sail pasts. From an idea formed in 1997, Marianne established Sail Parry Sound Inc., with an extraordinary team of skilled and dedicated volunteers, as a renowned centre for sailing instruction and for regatta management. As president until 2007, she was also Regatta Chair to the level of World Championships, for all but one regatta hosted by Sail Parry Sound. She continues to serve on the board. Marianne has spent thousands of hours not only inspiring and leading the team and volunteers, but also raising awareness of Sail Parry Sound, and its “Sailing for a better community” mandate among local municipalities, provincial and national funding bodies in the wider sailing world.

John Young

Born in Parry Sound, John is known as an exceptional athlete in many different sports. From skipping a team against Russ Howard in curling to playing with the Barrie Flyers Senior A Hockey Team in the late ‘70’s, to his position as a golf Pro at Muskoka Lakes Golf and Country Club. John enjoyed a successful career in Men’s Sr. Fastball in the 70’s pitching for the Toronto Globals as a starting pitcher. In1988 he was asked to join the Canadian Men’s Fastball Team to represent Canada in Holland where they won the Championship. John was honoured at the Orillia World Fastball Tournament in the late 90’s as the best pitcher for the period of 1970-1975. John also coached men’s and women’s teams as well as umpiring all levels of Fastball. He is recipient of citations from various Premiers for outstanding achievement in fastball and as an outstanding community sports Builder. From Fastball to Curling, Hockey, Volleyball and Badminton, John has seen success. Truly an all around Athlete!

Raymond Barks

Ray was born in Depot Harbour in 1936, and first learned to play hockey on the frozen waters of Georgian Bay. He played his entire organized hockey in Parry Sound and continued to play hockey for the Parry Sound Old-timers, right up to his sudden passing December 24, 2005. Ray began coaching minor hockey in the mid 1960’s. In the early 70’s he was selected to be the Head Coach of all minor hockey teams in Parry Sound. In 1980 he progressed to coach the Parry Sound Jr. C Shamrocks for a period of 5 years. In the community, Ray gave in many ways. He was a volunteer Fireman for 25 years, coached softball, and was the lead organizer in bringing the big Bike for Heart and Stroke event to Parry Sound. Ray led his life as an example for others to follow. He volunteered his time to make the lives of those around him better and made a lasting impression on the young hockey players that were fortunate enough to call Ray Barks, Coach.