Oct 29, 2009 - 04:30 AM

By Chris Hall

PORT PERRY -- Scugog's shrine to its sporting heroes welcomed four new members last week as the Township held its third annual sports hall of fame inductions.

In what turned out to be a homecoming of sorts for some of the inductees, the Township feted three more of its sporting legends and a former provincial championship team at a special ceremony held Oct. 22 at the Scugog Community Centre.

Added to the ever-growing hall were former National Hockey League coach George Burnett, figure skater and skating instructor Dennis Johnston and the 1959-60 Port Perry Juvenile 'C' Ontario Champions. Joining them was Wayne Venning, who was inducted into the builder category of the hall of fame.

Throughout the evening, the theme for those joining the ranks of Scugog's sports hall of fame was a combination of home, family and the community they grew up in.

"Port Perry was a great place to be a kid," said Mr. Burnett, the current coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Belleville Bulls.

A graduate of McGill University and top sniper in the Canadian collegiate league, Mr. Burnett began his OHL coaching career in 1988 with the Niagara Falls Thunder and was named coach of the year twice. He later moved on to the Cape Breton Oilers of the American Hockey League where he won the league championship in his first year behind the bench.

He also had brief coaching stints in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Mighty Ducks before returning to the junior ranks. Mr. Burnett also guided Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2001 World Under-18 championships.

"The opportunities and experiences hockey has provided me are endless ... to travel the world and represent your country," said Mr. Burnett.

But, "I've always been very proud to call Port Perry my home."

Also thrilled to be enshrined was Mr. Johnston.

"This is spectacular, really spectacular," he said, thanking almost every member of his family.

"The support I get from this community and my family, it's amazing," he said.

An aspiring hockey player at a young age, Mr. Johnston took up figure skating -- at the urging of his father -- to improve his skating skills.

Throughout his amateur career, he never placed lower than third at a national competition and retired from the sport in 1975 after winning bronze at the Canadian nationals. He later made a brief comeback in 1981 when he and partner Catherine McBeth placed sixth at the world professional championship in Spain.

After his competitive skating days were over, Mr. Johnston moved to British Columbia where he developed a power skating certification program and, at his peak, was teaching up to 1,000 children a week. More than 60 current NHL players have attended his hockey schools.

"I got to travel the world and date some pretty girls, which was kind of cool," said Mr. Johnston.

Also honoured was long-time ball enthusiast Wayne Venning, perhaps better known as Scugog's Mr. Softball.

While also a keen supporter of local ringette and hockey, Mr. Venning has made his mark in the Scugog community through his commitment to the game of softball. When minor softball was in its infancy in the 1960s, Mr. Venning stepped up to the plate and became a member of the executive and served for 20 years.

Over the years, he's also been an umpire, manager and coach, leading players of all ages. His career has also included trips to the Ontario Summer Games, with a silver medal to show for it, and four provincial championships.

He was also honoured by the Ontario Amateur Softball Association in 1996 and 1997.

The final name to be added to the hall last week was that of the 1959-60 Port Perry Juvenile 'C' hockey team, which was the first Port Perry Minor Hockey Association team to win a provincial title.

Also that evening, the 60th anniversary of the Cartwright Curling Club and the 40th anniversary of the Port Perry Tennis Club were honoured.