Guy Weadick and his wife Florence LaDue are finally getting into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

And it's all thanks to Irene Kerr, the curator at the Museum of the Highwood.

Kerr says she put together the application for the pioneer category back in 2018 after a recent visit to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in Red Deer.

She says it was important that both of them were nominated and found the support for the nomination.

"I talked to Lenore Maclean, and she thought it was a good idea too, she was very supportive.  And then I got supporting letters from the Calgary Stampede board and also from Donna Livingstone who actually wrote the book about Guy Weadick." 

Kerr explains why it took so long for the application and ceremony to be finished.

"Finally, this year, you have a three-year window and between COVID and everything, they contacted me in January and let me know the application had been accepted."

Part of the application letter reads as follows:

Dear Selection Committee, 

For some time now I've been considering submitting an application for the pioneer work for Guy and Florence LaDue Weadick. Through my many years of work in museums both at the Glenbow and the Museum of the Highwood I've constantly been exposed to and amazed by the remarkable story of Guy and Florence.  Their contributions to the history and sport of rodeo and chuckwagon racing have been unsurpassed. Although the more commonly known and recognized of the two has been Guy Weadick, the inscription on the tombstone of Florence, who predeceased Guy, reads 'A Real Partner'.  I truly believe it was the partnership and that she was just as responsible for the success of the development and promotion of the sport as her husband. She was a tremendous athlete herself and a pioneer in the sports of trick roping and riding and blazed a trail for women athletes.

The couple were instrumental in launching the Calgary Stampede as well as developing the sport of rodeo.

The ceremony takes place this Friday Oct. 21 in Red Deer at the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Both Guy and Florence lived in Calgary, Longview and High River where they are buried in the local cemetery.

 

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