OTTAWA, ON – On Wednesday, September 27th at Lansdowne Park’s Horticulture Building, the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame is inducting five new members to its local sports shrine – Carol Anne Chenard (builder – soccer referee), Murray Costello (builder – hockey administrator), Tim Higgins (athlete – hockey), Earle Morris (builder – curling coach) and Jill Perry (athlete – boxing). Each Tuesday and Thursday until the event, the Sport Hall will post an article on an aspect of the event. Today’s article is on 2023 Keynote Speaker Chris Phillips.
2023 OTTAWA SPORT HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY KEYNOTE SPEAKER – CHRIS PHILLIPS:
After spending almost 20 years as the cornerstone of the Ottawa Senators blue line, Chris Phillips will now serve as the keynote speaker at the 2023 Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at Lansdowne Park’s Horticulture Building.
Phillips will join Russ Jackson and Elizabeth Manley as past inductees who have delivered welcome speeches to new Hall entrants. Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame Director Terry Marcotte, the long-time CTV Ottawa sports anchor, will serve as event emcee.
Phillips played 17 years in the NHL, all for the Ottawa Senators, who drafted him first overall in 1996.
The two-time world junior champion totalled 1,179 regular season NHL games and 114 more in the playoffs. He was recognized as a reliable, shutdown defender who played many minutes against the opposition’s top players, but still emerged with a +68 career plus-minus rating.
“It’s really nice to have Chris as our keynote speaker,” says Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame Chair Dave Best, noting that he loves to have current members salute new Hall inductees, and that the Ottawa Senators have always been great partners.
“Chris is exactly the type of character we admire having in the Hall,” adds Best. “He was a rock-solid defenceman for 17 seasons, the backbone of so many of those great Sens winning teams, and he still lives here and contributes to our community. I think people really appreciate that.”
Phillips remains the longest-serving player in Senators franchise history and he continues to work for the club as its Vice President of Business Operations.
“It’s a huge honour to be recognized among the people of Ottawa,” Phillips said when he was inducted into the Ottawa Sport Hall himself in 2019.
“It’s not where I’m from,” added the Fort McMurray, AB.-raised athlete, “but being with the Senators’ organization for more than 20 years and calling Ottawa home, it’s a huge honour. It’s very exciting.”
Out of the five set to join the Hall this year, Phillips will be welcoming a pair of transplanted Ottawa residents. Curling builder Earle Morris was born in Saskatchewan and represented three different provinces at the Brier before settling in Ottawa, while Murray Costello grew up in South Porcupine (Timmins, ON) before his work with Hockey Canada brought him to Ottawa to stay.
Ottawa natives Carol Anne Chénard (builder – soccer referee), Tim Higgins (athlete – hockey) and Jill Perry (athlete – boxing) are the other inductees.
More details on the event, tickets to the ceremony, and profiles of the Hall’s 2023 class of inductees, are available at OttawaSportHall.ca.
SEPTEMBER 27 OTTAWA SPORT HALL OF FAME INDUCTION EVENING
Tickets for the Wednesday, September 27th Induction Ceremony are available for purchase now!
In the lead-up to the banquet, full-length features on each of the inductees will be posted on the Hall’s new website at OttawaSportHall.ca and shared through the Ottawa Sports Pages, the Hall’s new partner.
Event tickets are $125 per person or $1,200 for a table of 10, while premium tables go for $2,000 and additional sponsorship opportunities are available. See OttawaSportHall.ca for more details.
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Contacts:
Dave Best
Chair, Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame
613-799-9415
Chair@OttawaSportHall.ca
Terry Marcotte
Director, Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame
terrymarcotte1@gmail.com
About the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame:
The Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization, which documents, curates and celebrates outstanding achievement in local sport heritage. The Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors which works in close partnership with the City of Ottawa to maintain and preserve Ottawa’s rich sporting legacies. Each year, the Hall of Fame Board receives nominations from the public, and selects new inductees to be represented in the Hall. The Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame is located at City Hall. It contains artifacts, photographs and memorabilia honouring our sporting heritage, as well as commemorative plaques honouring its more than 275 inductees.