Balloting for a spot on the final ballot of the prestigious Proximity Award was recently conducted among the directors of the United States Harness Writers Association, and when the extremely tight vote came to a close, the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, along with its director, Gail Cunard, had secured spots in the final runoff, along with two stalwarts from the sprawling Hanover Shoe Farms complex: president Jim Simpson and vice-president Russell Williams (normally, the top three vote-getters make the final ballot, but there was a tie for third, earning all of this quartet a spot on the last Proximity ballot).
The Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, as its name suggests, serves two functions: the museum preserves and showcases the sport's past, along with the best features of its present, while the hall immortalizes the premier people and horses that have left an indelible mark on the sport. It is generally regarded as one of the top sports Halls of Fame in North America.
Cunard has spent over a dozen years as director of the large upstate New York building, using her vision and tireless work ethic to revamp old exhibits, put together new ones virtually from scratch, and being an ongoing, tireless cheerleader for the museum and hall. And she has expanded the museum's reach, sending out modified versions of Goshen exhibits to be seen by hundreds of thousands throughout many harness racing venues.
Jim Simpson is the son and brother of Hall of Fame horsemen, but he has emphatically made his own contributions to the sulky game. After years as a successful trainer/driver, he moved into the Hanover board room and became president and CEO in 1997, keeping Hanover at the top of the sport with astute 'signings' of champion stallions and constant rejuvenation of the broodmare band.
Williams, vice-president of Hanover and an important contributor to the farm's direction and success, has achieved much acclaim over the last few years for his purchase of unwanted, usually retired, harness horses and placing them with people who will provide care, allowing them to escape a grim fate -- for which he won the 2004 Standardbred Retirement Fund Humanity Award.
The foursome will be put before the membership of USHWA during balloting in November. The winner of the Proximity Award, rated second in harness prestige only behind election into the Hall of Fame, will be honored at the Harness Writers' annual banquet, to be held February 28, 2010 at Yonkers Raceway.
(USHWA)