Tracy Calogheros, Shirley Gratton, Ron Neukomm, Stu Ballantyne and Barry Williams -photo 250news

Prince George, B.C.- Time flies.  It has already been 28 days since the opening ceremony for the Canada Winter Games in Prince George.Today, the Games Host Society made a presentation to Exploration Place,  a  complete set of  medals from the Games, along with the special  hand crafted  pouches  that were given  to athletes to  hold their  precious medals. “Twelve hundred athletes won medals like the ones we are presenting today.  It is very fitting and important that  we share these medals with the community” said CEO  Stu Ballantyne .  “It’s important that these remain in the community and everyone can enjoy them.”

There are two  pins on the lanyard o each medal.  Cast in the same colour as the medal, they are “parent pins”, so the parents can  be proud of what their  children have accomplished. Designed by Jennifer Pighin of the Lheidli T’enneh, the medal producers (Teck) were so impressed with her design, that they asked her to  design the  back of the medal as well.

The Lheidli T’enneh  also made the pouches while high school students  made the special medal presentation trays.  Each student who made a tray had their  own name etched into it, and that tray was returned to its creator as a memento  of the Games.

Two sets of medals were donated today, one to Exploration Place , the other to the Prince George Sports Hall of Fame. Ballantyne says the medals  will also  be  visual in a couple of other venues.  “The Royal BC Museum contacted us and asked for a set of  the medals.  It’s not normal for them to have athletic  memorabilia, but the cultural significance of having Jennifer of the Lheidli T’enneh, designing these medals has cultural significance for   British Columbia, so these medals will be on display for many years to come at that level.  There also will be a set  at the  Canada Sports Hall  of Fame,  and of course the B.C. sports Hall of Fame and the Canada Games Council will keep a set, as will Teck at their head office.”

The medals are just the first of what Calogheros  says will be  a broader  exhibit  that may be in place in time for the first anniversary of the opening of the  Games. The volunteers  were key to the success of the Games, and  the “Green Jackets” may be the next  item donated to the museum  says  Ballantyne “I think it’s highly important that  the Green Jacket is reflected in the history of the City because that’s what made the Games  wonderful.”

“The museum is an integral forum for this community” says Calogheros ” We are here because our  community  wants to have a place where they can get together, share their stories, have  difficult discussions and learn about each other. I think the Games  were sort of the personification of that. The community  came together, the celebrations were fabulous, the competitions were unbelievable  and the legacies coming out of that will be far reaching.”