Aaron Hall: CK Election & Sports Interview

Below are the CK Election and Sports interview responses for Ward 5, Wallaceburg council candidate Aaron Hall. Remember to vote October 22.

Name: Aaron Hall

Hometown and Ward: Wallaceburg – Ward 5

What’s your sports/recreation background?

Sports has been a passion of mine since grade school. It started on the basketball courts at D.A. Gordon in Wallaceburg as a member of the Gators.

This passion transferred over to Wallaceburg District Secondary School during my teenage years. From Grade 9 to OAC, I was captain of the football, basketball and soccer teams and was actively involved with the Student Athletic Association. Our senior football team in 1999 captured the Kent Championship with a 6-5 victory over UCC, thanks to a pair of field goals by Shaun Suisham.

I was incredibly honoured to win multiple awards for my sporting achievements at WDSS: twice winning the Tartan Fair Play Award for good sportsmanship, capturing the the C.R. Maltby Award, the McLean Plaque for dedication to the sports program at WDSS, the Junior and Senior Male Athlete of the Year Awards and the Brad Lightfoot Memorial Scholarship Award. It was also an amazing honour to be the WDSS male nominee for the Dr. Jack Parry Award in 2001.

During the summers, I could always be found on the local baseball diamonds playing for the Wallaceburg Warriors. A highlight was the time in 2001 when our junior team captured the Ontario Baseball Association provincial championship.

After high school, my love for sport moved from Wallaceburg to St. Catharines, where I studied Sport Management at Brock University. While in school I learned about the business side of sport: sport marketing, sport policy, psychology, law, globalization, quantitative and quantitative research and much more. I also volunteered with the Brock Athletic Department, the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is also at university where I first got a taste for journalism, having volunteered as a sports reporter for The Brock Press student newspaper.

After graduating from Brock, I went to Fanshawe College in London to study Corporate Communication and Public Relations. I landed a paid gig as a sports reporter and columnist with The Interrrobang, Fanshawe’s student newspaper.

Journalism continued to be my career of choice after leaving Fanshawe, and sports coverage always remained one of the favourite parts of my job, from writing to photography.

While working in radio in Wallaceburg, I was fortunate to dabble into other areas of sport, including: LIVE play-by-play of Wallaceburg Lakers games and Tartan Football games, and MCing local sporting events.

I’ve also been able to interview several professional athletes, including my former teammate Shaun Suisham, CFLer Andy Fantuz (who actually separated my shoulder with a tackle when he played for John McGregor back in high school) and Wallaceburg’s own Seth Griffith, then playing with the Florida Panthers, inside the visiting locker room at Joe Louis Arena.

I’ve also interviewed Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez inside the Detroit Tigers clubhouse and I requested one with Justin Verlander once, only to have tell me that he couldn’t because he was “having a party at his house.” I never did get an invite either.

As an adult, I’ve participated in the Wallaceburg Flag Football League, Slo-Pitch League and helped organize and run multiple golf tournaments for the Tartan Alumni Fund, a charity my group of friends helped launch over 10 years ago.

I still play pick-up basketball during the fall and winter. As a group, and thanks to the leadership of my friend Nick Persyn, we’ve raised funds for different local causes (Wallaceburg Fireworks and the Fields and Campbell families) through an annual 4-on-4 basketball tournament held at WDSS.

Now as a ‘sports parent’, I’ve been able to enjoy watching and cheering from the sidelines while my daughters participate: Daylia with the Wallaceburg Skating Club and Ava with the Wallaceburg Airhawks and Tartan basketball teams.

What are your thoughts, or what value do you place in sports and recreation for the citizens of Chatham-Kent overall, and/or when showcasing Chatham-Kent to newcomers?

As I’ve mentioned, sports has been a lifelong passion for me.

I’ve met my best friends through sports and have developed life skills (teamwork, sportsmanship, hard work, commitment, responsibility) that I still use today. This concept of teamwork, partnership and collaboration is something I’ve carried throughout my life and career. It would be an essential attribute I would use to work closely with the other successful candidate to be elected to represent Wallaceburg and with the entire 18-person Chatham-Kent Council.

The opportunity organized sport gives to our youth is limitless and positive.

It is important for Chatham-Kent to continue to support youth sports, and assist these organizations by providing quality Municipal services (arenas, parks, pools) to allow these organizations and our youth to flourish.

The successes our athletes accomplish through sport is a positive way to showcase our community and helps put us on the map.

I will continue to encourage my daughters to remain active and involved in sports, as our family believes the values learned from it are priceless.

My partner Dana Haggith, who is a personal trainer and fitness instructor, also teaches weekly classes at the Wallaceburg Adult Activity Centre, ensuring that our older population keeps moving and places value in fitness and remaining active.

One of the hot topics leading up to the election, and over the past decade has been a new twin pad arena for Chatham-Kent. Where do you stand on this? What thoughts do you have?

When talking about arenas in Chatham-Kent, first and foremost I am excited for the upcoming $2-million improvements planned for Wallaceburg Memorial Arena. The expanded lobby area and canteen will benefit many Wallaceburg residents and it will make it more accessible to people attending the arena for the myriad of sporting events being held throughout the year. With my youngest daughter Daylia being a member of the Wallaceburg Figure Skating Club, I can see how additional space will allow their Christmas carnival, spring skating show and rehearsals to run even more smoothly and comfortably. I’ll look forward to volunteering and being the Master of Ceremonies for their events once again in the winter.

The additional change rooms will also bring a nice boost to our thriving minor hockey and lacrosse programs in Wallaceburg, along with the Lakers and Red Devils junior teams.

I think Jane McGee, supervisor of recreation facilities in Wallaceburg, said it best when I interviewed her about the improvements to the arena for a story in the Sydenham Current: “It allows freer movement in congested areas, it provides an elevator access to the upstairs, which we don’t presently have. So if you have any mobility issues or limitations, getting up the stairs is difficult. It would also allow for a fully accessible washroom to be incorporated. And let’s face it, when you bring people from out of town into your building and you’re continually showing that you are investing in the building and you’re making upgrades and you’re keeping up with the demand and requirements of the building, people see that and they think ‘wow, progressive community, that’s nice to see.’”

I was fortunate to be in the Chatham-Kent Council chambers on May 28 to hear the report and discussion about a twin pad arena for Chatham. Council moved forward by directing staff to create a plan about two different twin pad options for Chatham (a 4,200 seat event centre or a 2,200 seat community facility), which would also be contingent on receiving funding from the Federal and Provincial governments. I believe it was appropriate for the current council to hand any future decisions about this over to the new council. I would need to review and examine the financing options and plan for any recommendation moving forward before making a decision on this. It is important for Council to make responsible decisions, while ensuring the community needs are met in this case. If given the opportunity, I’ll be honoured to be a part of this decision. In the meantime, I’ll continue to research this item and gather details about it.

Do you have any other ideas or plans that would impact health, wellness, sports, or recreation in Chatham-Kent, and specifically in your Ward?

Leading by example is something I plan to do when it comes to living a healthy life and promoting sports, recreation and wellness in Wallaceburg and Chatham-Kent overall.

After suffering an Achilles tendon tear last October, I’ve been able to rehabilitate myself back up to full health, thanks to help of Staci Modde at the Wallaceburg Sports Injury and Physiotherapy Clinic. I’ve also been able to make some big life changes, with the help of my doctor, Dr. Muhammad Afzal, and Elaine Lee, a nutritionist at the Chatham-Kent Family Health team, to achieve some significant weight loss goals since my injury.

After I was injured, I was faced with the question multiple times : ‘Will you ever play basketball again?’ I refused to give in and pack up my sneakers. Through discipline, hard work, dedication and commitment, I am in line to continue playing hoops come the fall, and will be near the same weight I was when I left high school.

As part of CK Plan 2035, which is a community strategic plan that was developed based on the collective vision of Chatham-Kent residents, businesses and municipal government for what the community wants Chatham-Kent to aspire to be in 20 years, one of the aspects of the ‘healthy and safe community’ progress indicators is overweight/obesity. Statistics show that three out of five people are overweight in Chatham-Kent, compared to 52% of people overall in Ontario. We need to keep working on improving this number.

Also, through the Sydenham Current, we will continue to showcase our local athletes and teams in our newspaper. If anyone has a sports score, story idea or photos, please send them to me at aaron@sydenhamcurrent.ca.

Anything else you’d like to tell our readers and voters?

My priority, if elected to represent Wallaceburg, is to listen to the people of my hometown and community.

I want to ensure our voices are heard, not only about pressing issues and concerns, but also about the great and inspiring people, messages and aspects of our community that shape our lives and neighbourhoods.

I have some exciting plans in the works for my campaign as well, which will likely already be in motion when this story runs.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me anytime at aaronwilliamhall@gmail.com, call/text 519-365-1079, message me on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/aaronwilliamhall) or on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Aaron__Hall).

I would be honored to have your support come October 22, 2018.

Thank-you to Ian Kennedy (a former Gator teammate and fellow Tartan alumni) and CKSN for this opportunity to talk sports as well.