This page was exported from The Auroran [ http://www.newspapers-online.com/auroran ] Export date:Sat Sep 27 18:55:23 2025 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Aurora Sports Hall of Fame members reflect on “remarkable year” at its Annual General Meeting --------------------------------------------------- More than 40 members and guests attended the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame Annual General Meeting on Wednesday night at the Aurora Public Library. President and Chair Javed Khan introduced Mayor Tom Mrakas who delivered the meeting's opening remarks. Mayor Mrakas welcomed attendees and described “the vital role of the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame for instilling core values in the community.” He congratulated ASHOF on “its newly-renovated space at SARC that will expand its footprint by honoring our athletes and community leaders.” Mayor Mrakas closed his address by thanking the blue-jacketed Hall of Fame Directors, red-jacketed Inductees, and all the dozens of volunteers connected to the organization “for inspiring pride in our community.” After the approval of minutes, Khan delivered a Year in Review in which he described ASHOF's accomplishments in 2024 as “a remarkable year” in which “50 dedicated volunteers led with optimism and collaboration.” Khan noted that ASHOF “deepened engagement, developed the brand, and connected to community at various events including the Street Banner program” that provided “vibrant tributes to inductees” and noted that “new banners will be unveiled on Yonge Street in May in an annual ceremony.” Khan also pointed to organization's accomplishments including “our new display case at the Aurora Family Leisure Complex, the revamped website that launched in July 2024, the renovations and expansion at SARC to create a great new space where negotiations with the Town turned to action.” Khan addressed ASHOF's sartorial shift as the “green sweaters were retired and blue jackets for Directors and red jackets for Inductees were unveiled. “The colored jackets improved our brand with thanks to Marco Di Girolamo for sponsoring the Inductees' jackets.” The President and Chair delineated the initiatives of the Year Ahead which included “finding innovative ways to tell our story, being a leader in the broader community, growing our membership and creating a more diverse membership that needs to feel connected, appreciated, and empowered.” He added that ASHOF had plans “to expand its digital presence to strengthen its brand, to create an even more dynamic and inclusive organization, and to develop its newly-renovated space by enhancing the visitor experience at SARC.” Khan closed by noting that “this is a perfect and exciting time for ASHOF, that we've come a long way since 2013, and there's no limit to what we can achieve.” ASHOF Treasurer Brian Roberts delivered his annual report and observed that “the organization has continued to thrive with stable and well-organized management of a $186K total budget which represented a 27% increase due to sponsorships and golf tournament revenue.” Roberts noted that the annual golf tournament brought in “$60K in revenue and a 15% increase was made to the donation to CMHA.” Roberts acknowledged a “modest $1,731 surplus which was reinvested. With prudent management, I look forward to another prosperous year with the Aurora Sports Hall of Fame.” After Roberts's remarks, attendees enjoyed a series of Committee Chair reports from Grace Wong (Community Outreach), Mike Smith (Cornerstone), Kristen Dajia and Pat Park (Education), Governance (Gerry Miller), Melanie Pearson (Induction), Javed Khan (Induction Celebration Evening Committee/ Marketing and PR Committee), and closing summations from the Membership Committee and Nomination Committee. In his remarks related to the Nomination Committee, President and Chair Javed Khan noted that a record “ten nominations were received for the Class of 2025 and that two new categories—Media and Team—would be available for nominations every other year starting in 2026.” Khan reminded attendees that the Annual Induction Ceremony—starring Emcee Rod Black—would be held on November 6, 2025 at the Royal Venetian Mansion starting at 5.30 p.m. In a closing pitch, Cornerstone Chair Mike Smith promoted the Third Annual ASHOF Celebrity Golf Classic at Pheasant Run GC on June 12, 2025 and noted that “we were able to hold last year's price.” Early bird registration rates apply until May 15 and participants were directed to the ASHOF website for details regarding the charity fundraiser. By Brock Weir --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2025-04-24 14:01:52 Post date GMT: 2025-04-24 18:01:52 Post modified date: 2025-04-24 14:01:55 Post modified date GMT: 2025-04-24 18:01:55 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.com