Barrieau To Moncton Sports Wall Of Fame

The City of Moncton proudly announced that Gilles Barrieau is one of eight 2021 inductees to the Moncton Sports Wall of Fame.

The Class of 2021 will see Gilles Barrieau and Jeremy Adam Steeves inducted under the Athlete category, and Lawrence Forbes, Louis Melanson, Les Harrison, Gerard McLaughlin (Gerry), Brian Rice and Jeff Jones under the Builder category. These individuals have shown excellence and dedication, and have enriched the sports community in Greater Moncton.

The Barrieau name is synonymous with harness racing in the Maritimes; it all started when his grandfather Leonard began racing, closely followed by his uncles Ruffin and Marcel. Gilles followed in their footsteps and is now credited for winning numerous races and awards related to harness racing over an impressive 40-year journey. His accomplishments include winning every major race in Atlantic Canada, including the Walter Dale in Fredericton, the Provincial Cup in Saint John, the Johnny Conroy in Truro, and the Governor's Plate in Summerside. With more than 4,500 races won, he clearly demonstrated his desire to be the best at his sport. He also won the most prestigious race in the Maritimes: The Gold Cup and Saucer, in 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2017. Furthermore, he won the Canadian National Driving Championship in 2007, earning him the right to represent Canada at the World Driving Championship in Australia and New Zealand. He won the O’Brien Award twice for horsemanship, which recognizes athletes demonstrating multidisciplinary excellence in both driving and training. Since 2005, he has annually ranked in the top 10 drivers in Canada. Gilles has earned esteem in the horse racing community and continues to do so today.

The Wall of Fame ceremony will be held on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Capitol Theatre at 7 p.m. Including the 2021 recipients, there have been over 200 athletes, builders and teams inducted into the Moncton Sports Wall of Fame since its inception in 1986.

Tickets for the October 23 induction ceremony are available free of charge at the Capitol Theatre box office located at 811 Main Street or by visiting capitol.nb.ca. All attending individuals will be expected to follow Public Health measures and COVID-19 guidelines outlined by the provincial government, as well as any other measures put in place by the Capitol Theatre.

The Moncton Sports Wall of Fame can be found within the Avenir Centre located at 150 Canada Street in Moncton. For more information on the Sports Wall of Fame, including past inductees, click here.

Bios of the other Moncton Wall of Fame 2021 inductees are available below.

Jeremy Adam Steeves - Athlete - Football

Jeremy Steeves’ started his football career as a member of the 1993 PeeWee division provincial champion Riverview Lions. He was a standout player for Riverview High School and Team New Brunswick. Following graduation, he excelled at free safety for St. Francis Xavier University, where he holds the X-Men record for interception return yards (369) and has the 2nd most career interceptions (19). He earned the CIS Rookie of the Year Award in 2000 and defensive 1st Team All Canadian honors in 2003. He was drafted in 2005 to the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League but was injured on the first day of training camp. In 2007, while working on a master’s degree in Biomechanics at the University of Tennessee (UT) he was scouted by the Edmonton Eskimos and played one CFL season with them before returning to UT to complete his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology and earn a second master’s degree in public health from John Hopkins University. Jeremy’s athletic and academic achievements are remarkable his positive influence is felt by everyone he encounters.

Lawrence Forbes - Builder - Curling

Lawrence Forbes’ curling career began in Moncton in 2000 as a minor official in the Canadian Junior Karcher Championship. He then went on to pursue a meaningful journey to becoming a provincial, national, and international official. Forbes has occupied the technical roles of Chief, Deputy Chief and Game Umpire for major events such as the Curling Canada Championships and World Curling Federation Championships. He is currently a level four Chief Umpire, and a member of a small group of individuals who ensures fair field of play at the highest levels of the sport in our country. Lawrence has also played a major role in mentoring new officials as they graduate from smaller club events, all the way to their first appearance on the big stage. This relentless mentorship is critical to the continued success of curling in Canada. Lawrence has been nothing short of exemplary in his knowledge of curling, his natural leadership, his attention to detail, and his respectful relationships maintained with the athletes he officiates.

Louis Melanson - Builder - Golf

Louis Melanson has been involved in coaching and teaching golf since 1995, and his journey has been nothing short of astonishing. He has introduced hundreds of people to the sport of golf through his junior, women, and school programs. He coached Team NB at numerous Canadian Junior National Championships, as well as at National Team Training Camps. He also developed his own junior program that has helped students compete at a national level and move on to college and professional ranks, all under his mentorship. He has won numerous awards such as Atlantic PGA of Canada Coach of the Year in 2014, 2017 and 2018, as well as the Atlantic PGA of Canada Teacher of the Year in 2003, 2005 to 2007, and again in 2012, 2013 and 2018. In 2017, he won the Sport NB Coach of the Year as Team NB won bronze at the Canada Games, a first for New Brunswick. In 2021 he won the Jack McLaughlin Junior Leader of the Year Award which recognizes a PGA of Canada professional who is a leader in junior golf. This summer Louis was selected as the Head Coach by Interim for the National Men's Team for two major amateur tournaments in Buffalo and Chicago. Louis’s success has been achieved through dedication, hard work, exceptional leadership and coaching the game that he loves.

Les Harrison - Builder - Curling

Les Harrison has been volunteering his time and skills for the past forty years to the sport of curling, and has held almost every leadership position in local, provincial, national, and international curling organizations over the course of his career. In 1997, Les was elected to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Curling Association. In 2000, he was elected as Vice President of the World Curling Federation (WCF) and then as President of the WCF from 2006-2010. He became New Brunswick’s and Curling’s sole representative on the Canadian Olympic Committee, where he held the position of Vice Chair International Relations from 2011 through 2017. He was instrumental in convincing the International Olympic Committee to include the mixed doubles format to the Olympic Winter Games, demonstrating his influence on the sport. Harrison always displayed relentless commitment to his sport and his community. He is an Honorary Life Member of the NB Curling Association, and Life Member and Member of Curling Canada’s Hall of Fame. In 2006 he received a well-deserved Sport NB Lifetime Volunteer Achievement Award. Les’ contribution to the growth and development of curling is recognized not only locally, but all the way to international levels.

Gerard McLaughlin (Gerry) - Builder - Sports Journalism

Gerard McLaughlin has been reporting on sports for well over 38 years. He has been a catalyst for amateur and professional sports in the Moncton area. Gerard has kept readers informed by providing details on local, provincial, national, and even international sporting events. He wrote with expertise and authority about every sport from curling to ice hockey, figure skating, boxing, baseball, softball and more. As he carried out his highly memorable career, Gerard was recognized for his knowledge and understanding of golf and curling, writing a column on these sports for several years after his retirement from Moncton’s Times & Transcript newspaper. He is in large part responsible for bringing golf to the forefront of the sporting scene for many years within the province. He has been one of the best promoters of local and provincial athletes throughout his career. He has a gift for listening and interpreting other people’s stories in a compelling manner, and it takes a special individual to write feats like one was there!

Brian Rice - Builder - Curling

During his 45 years of involvement in curling, Brian Rice has shown tremendous dedication to the growth and development of the sport here in Moncton, as well as provincially, nationally, and internationally. He has shown commitment to curling at high school, junior and provincial levels by coaching and facilitating courses all over the Maritimes, across the country and beyond. Over the years, Brian has conducted over 100 courses through the National Coaching Certification Program, and he was an instructor at World Curling Federation junior and adult curling camps in Germany and Czech Republic. Numerous curlers that Brian has coached have gone on to participate in provincial, national and world championships. Brian has been recognized through many prestigious awards, including male Coach of the Year in 1990, and in 1995 he was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership to the NB Curling Association. Brian has established himself as a role model and his leadership qualities have been demonstrated through the various positions that he has successfully held throughout his remarkable career. Even today, he continues to educate himself to stay up to date with the sport’s evolution, something that he leverages into his coaching and instructing.

Jeff Jones - Builder - Wrestling

There is no coach more dedicated, devoted, and committed to the sport of wrestling than Jeff. He began his coaching career in 1987, building an inclusive, recreational, and competitive environment. He built the program from the ground up, laying the foundation for him to eventually establish the Mountaintop Club in 2007. His club extends from the novice level to elite competitive wrestling. He has coached elementary, middle and high school, university and Canada Games; some of his athletes have competed at World Championships and the Commonwealth Games. He has served and continues to serve on a great variety of organizing committees. He has won numerous awards such as the Canada Games Roly McLanahan Award in 2009 and received NB Coaching Excellent Award from 2009-2014 which recognizes coaches with national medalists. In 2017, Jeff was presented with the Konica Minolta Sports Award-Lifetime Volunteer Achievement. This award, which is selected from an elite group of coaches who represent all amateur sport in the province, recognizes the immense accomplishments of one NB coach per year. Many of his athletes have gone on to become strong contributing members of the society, community leaders, champions, and they through his guidance have cultivated unwavering passion for the sport of wrestling.

(With files from the City of Moncton)