Hall of Fame Without the Plaques...

I had just met June in 1995.  We worked together.  We became friends.  Our lives became inextricably linked that year despite us both living in separate places, dating other people, and generally ignoring one another half of the time, but I think we knew then, as odd as it may sound, that our future would look much different.  We were different people, different ages, and headed in different directions...until one day we weren't any of those things.

In 1995 June and her pretty talented teammates won an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Senior Volleyball Championship.  I didn't know her then.  We met five months later, at summer camp.  She often wore a grey fleece jacket with OFSSA Champions stitched in maroon on the chest, and of course, everyone knew that those girls had won.  I knew a few of them, some were friends sisters, some friends from camp, or friends of friends, all were stellar girls...nice...smart...going places. Flash forward to 2014 and this past weekend's Hall of Fame Induction and it's safe to say that they're better versions of their already awesome younger selves...still nice...still smart...each of them landing someplace solid, from Arizona to British Columbia... teachers, moms, designers, police officers...solid places indeed.

Winning an OFSSA Championship is an impressive accomplishment, but not half as impressive as who these girls were then and what they've become now. All nice...all smart...all landing someplace impressive.  They were Hall of Fame calibre before anyone put a medal around their neck, and would be even if they weren't inducted.

Congratulations June...and Kelly, Tylene, Jen, Boutsy, Tina, Leanne, Lara, Deirdre, Judith, Katrina, and Jessie.  I was late to the party, but no less impressed.  I didn't know many of you until 1995 or after, and so my version of you doesn't involve OFSSA medals at all, just the occasional path crossed, or kindness offered, and that says more about you than any induction ever can.

All nice...all smart...all going places.