CHAMPIONS SPEAK - 2013 Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Bell-Bathgate -- Builder
by Sandra Wright
Honored Guests, Ladies & Gentlemen:
It is my honor
and pleasure to introduce you tonight to Bill Bell-Bathgate
who is being inducted as a builder. Bill was born in
Toronto in 1924. Other than that, we don’t have much
information about Bill before he moved to Wetaskiwin. We do
know that Bill was already in Wetaskiwin as early as 1945 as
he married his wife Stella in Wetaskiwin that year and he
met her in Wetaskiwin. His first job was at the railway
telegraph office where he worked as a telegraph operator.
Thanks to the Wetaskiwin Archives and the many copies of
the Wetaskiwin Times that are preserved there, we were able
piece together his Wetaskiwin sporting story for the
program. I don’t have time to reiterate all of Bill’s
accomplishments that warrant his induction into the
Wetaskiwin & County Sports Hall of Fame so I hope that all
of you will take the time to read his bio that is printed in
our program.
I did talk to
a few people who were coached by or who worked under Bill
when he was the Recreation Director and found they all had
the same things to say about this gentleman. He was the
consummate professional and dedicated to his job, 12 hour
days for him were not uncommon. As a coach and as a leader
he was always prepared, he always treated you fairly, he had
high standards and high expectations. I can personally
attest to that as he was Recreation Director and my boss for
the six years that I worked as a lifeguard and swimming
instructor at the Kinsmen Outdoor Swimming Pool. Besides
being my boss, he was my mentor and friend, therefore it’s
really special for me to be making this presentation.
Ron Emmerling,
who was coached by Bill on a Wetaskiwin midget hockey team,
said the boys really appreciated Bill, besides being a good
teacher....he was the first coach they’d had who didn’t cuss
and swear. As well as working for the City of Wetaskiwin as
Recreation Director, Bill was hired later by the city as
Fire Chief. On the internet, this is what appeared on a
site where fire fighters were asked who influenced them the
most. One fellow said of Bill: “Taught every guy the
meaning of dedication, duty and selflessness. Gone now to
be with God, but I guarantee there’s smoke detectors on
every cloud in heaven”.
Bill passed
away in 1995 and because he and his wife Stella had no
children we were afraid that there would be no one to
accept this award on Bill’s behalf. Thanks to the magic of
the internet, we were able to locate two of Bill's nieces,
Shaw Malloy and Tina Turner-Collinge. We are pleased to
have these two ladies in attendance tonight and they will be
accepting Bill’s plaque.
Shaw and Tina,
would you please come forward to help us recognize Bill for
his leadership and the work that he did in organizing and
promoting sporting and recreation activities for the
citizens of Wetaskiwin.
