Nominations now open for 2023 Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards
Mike Masaro
Deadline of November 5 for Canadian golf community to submit nominations for Community Leader Award & Future Leader Award to recognize individuals’ impact through golf.
(September 27, 2023) – Golf Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation are pleased to announce that nominations for the 2023 Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards are now being accepted through to Sunday, November 5.
The inaugural Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards launched in the summer of 2022 and the Canadian golf community is invited to submit nominations for one of two signature recognitions – the Community Leader Award as well as the Junior Leader Award.
The Lorie Kane Community Leader Award celebrates individuals over the age of 19 with a demonstrated ability to lead community initiatives; who have contributed a measurable impact through volunteerism or charity; or have showcased excellence in their involvement with, or support of youth programs such as First Tee – Canada or other junior golf activities.
The recipient of the Lorie Kane Community Leader Award will receive a $5,000 donation from the Golf Canada Foundation to advance a golf program or golf-related initiative of their choice.
To recognize youth who are making an impact in their community, the Lorie Kane Future Leader Award will honour an individual 19 years of age or younger who embodies community leadership; has a history of sportsmanship or demonstrated activities to make the game more inclusive; or an individual who has used golf to create a meaningful impact in their community.
The recipient of the Lorie Kane Future Leader Award will be awarded a $5,000 donation towards their post-secondary education and will also be offered a paid work internship with Golf Canada.
The Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards were named to honour the Canadian golf icon for a longstanding commitment to advancing the sport, charitable work and giving back to the game that defined her Hall of Fame career. Kane is a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Canada Sports Hall of Fame as well as a recipient of the Order of Canada.
“On behalf of Golf Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation, we are pleased to begin accepting nominations from the Canadian golf community for the 2023 Lorie Kane Community Spirt Awards,” said Golf Canada President David McCarthy. “Lorie Kane is a Canadian golf icon who has given back so much to numerous communities across Canada through her charitable work and to the continued growth of our sport. We look forward to recognizing similarly committed individuals including youth leaders for their positive impact on the sport in their community.”
A 5-time Canadian Women’s Long Drive champion and former golf touring professional, Samij is a respected entrepreneur, speaker, and author who founded the Smashing the Grass Ceiling golf program to engage women and young girls to connect and be inspired on the golf course.
Beauchemin, a PGA of Canada professional and Head Teaching Professional at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, was nominated for his efforts to advance junior golf including First Tee Canada, as well as his mentorship to countless golf industry professionals through the Humber College Professional Golf Management Program.
The Canadian golf community is invited to submit individual nominations for the 2023 Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards through an online nomination form. The nomination period will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 5.
Click here to nominate an individual for the Lorie Kane Community Leader Award.
Click here to nominate an individual for the Lorie Kane Future Leader Award.
At the conclusion of the nomination period, all Lorie Kane Community Spirit Award submissions will be compiled and evaluated by a selection committee that includes representatives from Golf Canada, the Golf Canada Foundation, Honoured Members of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, industry representatives and the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.
Golf Canada & Golf Canada Foundation pay tribute to a legend renaming the new Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards
(BERNARD BRAULT, Golf Canada)
Golf Canada
Earlier this year, Golf Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation announced the creation of a new recognition award to acknowledge and celebrate the commitment of individual leaders who are using golf as a platform to positively impact their communities.
On the eve of the 2022 CP Women’s Open, to honour Canadian golf legend Lorie Kane who will make her 30th and final playing appearance at Canada’s National Open Championship, Golf Canada has announced that that recognition will be renamed the Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards.
The inaugural Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards will recognize a pair of remarkable individuals under two separate categories – the Community Leader Award and the Future Leader Award.
Kane, a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, Canada Sports Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Order of Canada, has been extremely active in supporting youth and charitable activities during her career. As a CP ambassador, Kane has also supported CP’s charitable platform that has helped to raise more than $13M in support of children’s cardiac care in the host markets of the CP Women’s Open.
“Lorie Kane has become one of the most active voices and passionate ambassadors for Canadian golf and it is truly deserving that Lorie Kane Community Leader Awards be named in her honour,” said Golf Canada President Liz Hoffman. “Lorie has been generous with her time in mentoring youth in PEI and across Canada, supporting future generations of up and coming athletes and giving back to the game that has meant so much to her incredible career. Lorie has worked with Golf Canada to engage the business community in their greater support of the women’s game and is a champion for our sport both on and off the golf course.”
The Lorie Kane Community Leader Award will celebrate an individual over the age of 19 with a demonstrated ability to lead community initiatives; someone who has contributed a measurable impact through volunteerism or charity; or an individual who has showcased excellence in their involvement with, or support of youth programs such as First Tee – Canada or other junior golf activities.
The recipient of the Lorie Kane Community Leader Award will receive a $5,000 donation from the Golf Canada Foundation to advance a golf program or golf-related initiative of their choice.
To recognize youth who are making an impact in their community, the Lorie Kane Future Leader Award will honour an individual 19 years of age or younger who embodies community leadership; has a history of sportsmanship or demonstrated activities to make the game more inclusive; or an individual who has used golf to create a meaningful impact in their community.
The recipient of the Lorie Kane Future Leader Award will be awarded a $5,000 donation towards their post-secondary education and will also be offered a paid work internship with Golf Canada.
The Canadian golf community is invited to submit individual nominations for the Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards through an online nomination form. The nomination period will close at 11:59 pm EST on August 31, 2022.
Click here to nominate an individual for the Lorie Kane Community Leader Award.
Click here to nominate an individual for the Lorie Kane Future Leader Award.
At the conclusion of the nomination period, all Lorie Kane Community Spirit Award submissions will be compiled and evaluated by a selection committee that includes representatives from Golf Canada, the Golf Canada Foundation, Honoured Members of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, industry representatives and the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.
The inaugural Lorie Kane Community Spirit Awards recipients will be announced during the 2022 World Junior Girls Championship, October 12-15 at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont.
On the PGA TOUR, Nicklaus led the money list eight times, twice while playing only 16 events. Between 1962 and 1979, he finished in the top 10 in 243 of the 357 official events he played in, a rate of 68 percent.
A strong supporter of the Canadian Open throughout his career, Nicklaus took on the challenge of designing Glen Abbey as a permanent site for the Canadian Open. His first solo design, Nicklaus brought years of on-course experience at tough golf courses and designed a layout that was tough on the professionals, yet enjoyable for the average golfer.
Nicklaus, was inducted to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in the builder category in 1995.
The success of the golf course he created and his support of the Canadian Open have assured the strength of golf in Canada for years to come.
Front row L to R: Doug Silverberg, Nick Weslock, Gary Cowan, Keith Alexander, Dunc Milligan at the 1966 World Amateur Tournament.
Golf Canada
Born January 16, 1933 in Red Deer, Alberta, Douglas Howard Silverberg is known for being a dominant force on the Alberta golf scene beginning in the late 1940s. A fierce competitor, Silverberg has won every major provincial championship in his home province, including the Juvenile, Junior, Amateur, Open and match play.
In addition to his stellar provincial record, Silverberg won the Canadian Junior in 1950 and the Senior Championship of Canada in 1994, and also represented Canada several times at the Commonwealth Tournaments, Americas Cup and World Amateur Team Championship.
When asked about the toughest competitor he ever faced as a player, fellow Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Robert Wylie pointed to Silverberg.
“He wanted to win more than any other player I competed against,” explained Wylie. “He was intimidating because of his intensity; you could see him grinding the entire round. You could never feel like you had him beat because he never gave up. You could be on the green in two with a ten-footer for birdie and he could be in the middle of a bush but you would have been foolish to think you were going to win the hole. He would make pars and birdies from places you wouldn’t imagine. It was remarkable. He just put his head down and tried to beat you. No one was tougher than Doug Silverberg.”
Silverberg was inducted to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Alberta Golf Hall of Fame in 2005.
Born on this day (January 7) in 1908, Jules Huot is often considered to be one of the finest of all Quebec golf professionals and an important contributor to the growth of the game across the country.
Huot grew up in Boischatel, Quebec, the second boy in a family of 13 children. His home within close proximity of Royal Québec Golf Club, Huot became a caddie and pro shop assistant while using his wages to help support his large family. At the age of 16, Huot’s mentor Frank Locke urged his assistant to begin competing and entered him in the 1924 Quebec Open.
Known as “le petit Jules”, Huot received many accolades and captured the CPGA Championship and Quebec Open Championship three times, won five Quebec PGA Championships, and finished as the low Canadian Professional at the Canadian Open on two occasions. His most notable victory however, was in 1937 when he bested Harry Cooper at the General Brock Open. The occasion marked the first time a Canadian professional had won a PGA TOUR tournament.
From L to R: Tony Huot, Benoit Huot, Roland Huot, Rudolphe Huot, Ulric Huot, Maurice Huot, Jules Huot, Emmanuel Huot
Huot would also be invited to play in the Masters on three occasions, serve as the President of the PGA of Canada in 1946, and represented Canada four times in the Hopkins Cup, as well as the Canada Cup (now World Cup) in 1954.
His achievements and legacy earned him Honoured Membership to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1977, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1978, The Quebec Sports Hall of Fame and Quebec Golf Hall of Fame in 1996, and, posthumously, the PGA of Canada Hall of Fame in 2014.
In recognition of his loyal services, Jules Huot was named Honorary Life Member at Le Club Laval where he served as head professional for 25 years until he retired in 1970.
In Chicoutimi and Montreal, you can find streets named after this French-Canadian icon who gave so much to the sport.
