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SLAM! Sports '99 Pan Am Games PAN AM GAMES INTERACTIVE CONTESTS ALSO ON SLAM!  |
Monday, January 17, 2000Pan Ams get Cactus Jack awardGames were a success in every wayEvery so often a sporting event has the unique ability to reach far beyond the court or field on which it is played. Winnipeggers were exposed to such an occurrence this past year when the Pan American Games took over the city from July 23 to Aug. 8. The 17-day event was a success in every way -- it made money, drew tremendous crowds and showcased Winnipeg and Manitoba to the rest of the Americas. The Games also brought together numerous cultures, raised political and social awareness and provided a lifetime of memories as part of their legacy. Last night, the Games received the Cactus Jack Wells Memorial Award, which goes to the sporting event that had the greatest impact on the province in the past year. "The Games themselves showed confidence in the community that we can, and still will be, the greatest city in Canada providing volunteers to amateur sport," said Pan Am president and chief executive officer Don McKenzie. "To have over 20,000 volunteers sign up for a special event for 17 days is just incredible. "What it does is give us a lead up on many other cities in hosting games and when it comes down to everything being equal, I think Winnipeg will be chosen." While the Pan Am Games made for a memorable summer, the World Junior Hockey Championship held Dec. 26, 1998, to Jan. 5, 1999, heated up the winter. The communities of Winnipeg, Brandon, Portage la Prairie, Selkirk, Teulon and Morden all took part in the tournament that received special recognition last night. The Manitoba tournament set new standards for attendance, profits and television ratings. The Dallis Beck good guy award was presented to Suzy Sourwine, the longtime director of marketing at Assiniboia Downs, who recently left Winnipeg to take a job at Emerald Downs in Seattle. Sourwine was a favourite of local media types as she went out of her way to accommodate everyone's needs and deserves special recognition. The Winnipeg Sun's own Dave Supleve was one of three people added to the MSSA media roll of honour. Supleve has been The Sun sports editor for the past 18 months after spending 22 years at the Winnipeg Free Press. CJOB news director Vic Grant, who spent a decade at the Winnipeg Tribune, was a columnist at The Winnipeg Sun and was also inducted along with the late Ken Nicholson, who was the original voice of the Winnipeg Jets and a CJOB sports director. 
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