The upcoming Hometown Heroes Night will feature no less than four local athletes being honoured.
The event that recognizes the top athletes from Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows has been postponed for two years due to COVID-19, so they will all be inducted next month.
Brian Malfesi and Sara Hopkins are the 2020 inductees, Maggie Coles-Lyster for 2021, and Jaycee Affeldt for 2022.
They join an impressive group of local sports stars that includes Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Larry Walker, Boston Bruins legend Cam Neely, race car icon Greg Moore, Vancouver Canucks West Coast Express centre Brendan Morrison, Team Canada soccer keeper Karina Leblanc, and Hall of Fame hockey broadcaster Jim Robson.
Since the inductions started in 1998, there have been 48 inductees, and 12 are former Olympians.
Malfesi is a decorated sprint kayaker who has been to the Olympics, and has charted a course for the Paris 2024 Games.
Hopkins was a trailblazer in the same sport, and she paddled in World Cup and other international events.
Coles-Lyster is a globe-trotting professional cyclist and member of Team Canada.
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Jaycee Affeldt was a softball star in the NCAA, played for Canada, and went on to coach U.S. college ball.
Hometown Heroes committee chair Ineke Boekhorst said Hometown Heroes Night is a chance to recognize great athletes, bring them back home, and hear their stories.
“All of them have accomplished so much,” she said, “and they are all quite proud to be from Maple Ridge.”
She said posters celebrating their accomplishments will be posted in all of the schools and city buildings, and serve as an inspiration to future hometown heroes.
The event will take place on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. at Garibaldi Secondary School’s Notre Bistro. Tickets are $60 for adults and $30 for youths, and can be purchased at the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre or by contacting jacquiemont@shaw.ca.
For more information see mapleridge.ca
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