When Steve Highfield appeared before council as a member of the Halton Hills Arena User Groups to make a case for new arenas in Georgetown and Acton, he had some work to do to convince a new councillor.
“I have to say, I was a little bit nervous about that decision. It was not a small amount of money. I thought, how will we afford it?” said Ann Lawlor, now Halton Hills’ mayor. “You showed us. You helped put together the incredible facilities in Acton and Georgetown and our rinks are still among the best in the province.”
That was just one of his many contributions over two and a half decades to ensure that future generations would have an opportunity to enjoy the game of hockey. For his work, Highfield was honoured with the Georgetown Hockey Heritage Award Wednesday night at Norval United Church.
After coaching in both the Thunder and Twisters organizations, Highfield led Halton Hills’ initiation program (IP) for several years. Among the changes he made was bringing teenage instructors to help, showing them there was a way to stay involved in the game when they’re playing days were done.
Head table guest, Olympic gold medallist and TSN anchor Tessa Bonhomme shared some of her experiences in the game and emphasized how the opportunities that others provided for her helped her achieve her goals, both in hockey and after her career.
“Those of us who grew up in small towns, loving hockey, just eat and breathe this stuff,” she said. “We do as much of it as we can, not necessarily to get our kids to the Olympics but to teach things like teamwork.”
Highfield said the honour caught him by surprise, and it was “something I didn’t ever expect or feel worthy of worthy of,” mainly because what he was able to do was due to the people around him.
“After receiving the call from Dr. Ron (Lefebvre), I was at Alcott a couple of weeks later,” Highfield said. “I walked the hallway where all the pictures are hanging on the wall. One thing that came to mind was time. We have amazing support from our families and friends. The hours that as volunteers we spend away from our houses at the arenas, in meetings, I said where did I find that time? It’s just the support of everybody.”
