Pitching ace Don Hillier among Hall of Fame inductees as CBS honours athletes, volunteers, and artists

By Mark Squibb

Fifteen CBS residents received awards for their achievements in sports, community life, and the arts last month, while four others were inducted into the town’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Memorial University Seahawks and Mount Pearl Marlins coach Chris Roberts was named Coach of the Year. In 2024, his swimmers broke 15 provincial records, and five qualified for the Olympic Trials and the Ontario Junior International, more than any provincial team in history. Roberts was named the Sport NL 2024 Male Coach of the Year earlier this year.
CBS Kiwanis Minor Baseball Association member Erin Letto was named the Executive of the Year. Letto joined the association in 2021 as a member of the constitution & bylaw review committee and went on to serve as vice-president. In 2024, she took on the role of umpire director.
Brandon Joy was named Senior Male Athlete of the Year. Joy made Canada’s National Blind Hockey Team in 2024 which went on to win gold at the Canada/USA Blind Hockey Summit in St. Louis. Despite living with only four percent vision, Joy trains at an elite level, while also running a weekly blind hockey program at Robert French Memorial Stadium. Earlier this year, Joy was awarded a Premier’s Athletic Award.
The Senior Female Athlete of the Year award went to both Cailey Locke and Zoë Rowe.
Locke is an accomplished curler who has represented the province and country in rinks around the globe. She has competed at multiple U18 and U20 National Championships and in 2024 represented Canada at the Youth Winter Olympics in South Korea. This past winter, she competed with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Italy. Locke was also a recipient of a 2024 Premier’s Athletic Award and the U21 National Fair Play Award.
Rowe is one of the country’s top university soccer players and was named a 2024 U SPORTS First Team All-Star, finishing second in goals and fourth in total points nationally. Rowe also earned the AUS First Team All-Star nod and Michelle Healey Award. She was also named Memorial University’s 2024–2025 Female Athlete of the Year.
Multi-sport athlete Declan Flynn was named the Junior Male Athlete of the Year. Last year Flynn was named Golf NL’s U16 Provincial Champion and Juvenile Player of the Year. He won four tournaments and earned bonze at the NL Summer Games as a member of Team Avalon and also earned individual and team titles at the RMS High School Golf Championship. Flynn also played for the Rock U17 rugby team, and his skill on the turf earned him a spot with Team Atlantic. He also played for the U18 AAA East Coast Blizzard hockey team.
Isabelle Quinton was named the Junior Female Athlete of the Year. A dedicated martial artist, Quinton went undefeated provincially and nationally, becoming a double Canadian Kickboxing Champion before earning a silver medal at the 2024 World Junior Championships. Quinton also excels on the rugby pitch and competed in national tournaments across North America.
The ages 13-15 CBS Silhouettes Artistic Swim Team was named the Team of the Year. The Silhouettes earned first place finishes in both the provincial championships and Atlantic regionals. Team members also earned several individual top three placements. Four of the team’s six athletes were selected for Team NL’s Canada Summer Games 2025 Artistic Swimming team.
In the community awards category, 2024 Miss Newfoundland and Labrador Megan Coles was named the Youth Volunteer of the Year. Coles has volunteered with Winterfest, the annual Christmas parade and several school events. Coles also supports a number of local organizations including the Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation, CBS-Paradise Food Bank, Special Olympics, Candlelighters Newfoundland and Labrador, and others. When not volunteering, Coles works full-time as a Registered Nurse at the Janeway Children’s Hospital and serves as an Advanced Medical First Responder with St. John Ambulance. Coles also earned a Trailblazer Award and a Confederation 75th Anniversary Medal.
The 1st CBS Scouts was named the Community Group of the Year. The troop has been busy this year, participating in community clean ups, food bank fundraisers, and Christmas events.
Jerry Hynes was named the Senior Volunteer of the Year. As of 2024, Hynes, 80, has volunteered with the CBS-Paradise Foodbank for 32 years. He currently holds the position of Vice-Chairman. He also serves on the St. Edward’s Parish Council (formerly St. Thomas of Villanova), where he acts as the food bank liaison. Hynes also joined the Age Friendly Card Club in 2024 and was appointed to the board of directors.
The Citizen of the Year was awarded to Lorne Morgan. Morgan led a number of volunteer initiatives and has participated in community events ranging from the Kelligrews Soiree to the CBS Kin Coat Drive, Salvation Army Kettle Campaign, and more. He also administered the Tim Hortons Chuck-A-Puck campaign for the CB Blues, which raised over $3,200 for 13 local charities, and additional funds for the Sammy’s Climb Higher Foundation. Morgan also serves on the CB Blues Allan Cup 2026 Committee.
In the arts category, Lisa Locke was named the Visual and Written Arts Artist of the Year.
Locke’s paintings have been exhibited across the province, and in 2024 her work was chosen as the visual inspiration for Theatre CBS’s production of Duckish. Her work is also featured in the new Mental Health and Addictions Facility.
Community choir Avalon Voices was named Performing Arts Artists of the Year. In 2024, the choir, under the director of Keri Kao, earned first place and the Adjudicator’s Choice Award at the Kiwanis Music Festival, and a silver medal at the national MusicFest competition. The choir is active in the community year-round.
Lastly, Queen Elizabeth student Griffin Rideout was named the 2025 Rising Star. Rideout performs in the school’s rock band and studies music as part of his academic program. In 2024, Rideout sold out his first solo show at the Barbour Premises Theatre and placed second in the Newfound Talent competition with an original song. Rideout also performed at the NL Folk Festival and Lumsden’s Celebration by the Sea. He also volunteers to sing the national anthem at sporting events and leads music sessions at a local daycare.
Four residents were inducted into the CBS Sports Hall of Fame.
Anthony Goobie has been playing hockey for five decades, and has played on multi championship teams, including the CBS’s Peewee All-Star Team, the Kelligrews Petro Canada Senior League champions, and more recently, the Wade Duggan Memorial Tournament champions. Goobie also excels in badminton and has captured multiple regional and provincial titles. But it was for his role in the development of minor hockey for which he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. As both head coach and technical director with the Eastern Icebreakers and CBR Minor Hockey, he has mentored hundreds of athletes and led provincial championship teams across all age groups. He’s been named Coach of the Year multiple times and continues to coach Team NL at Atlantic tournaments. Goobie also initiated the region’s first female U9 hockey program.
The second Hall of Fame inductee of the night was rugby star Ciaran Hearn. Hearn began playing with the Baymen and Holy Spirit High School senior teams in Grade 9, and, following his graduation, helped his teams earn 73 international championships across an 11-year international career. Hearn played on the World Rugby Sevens circuit, contributed to three national championships with the Newfoundland Rock, and turned pro after the 2015 World Cup, signing with London Irish in the UK and later Old Glory DC in the United States. Hearn currently coaches in Poland.
Founding executive member and prime sponsor of the CBS Junior Renegades Hockey Club Ernie Johnson was also inducted into the Hall of Fame. Johnson, who helped bring the team into the St. John’s Junior B Hockey League in 2010, outfitted new players with team jackets every season, sponsored the Assante Rookie of the Year Award for over a decade, and personally ensured every home game had a printed game-day program. Before getting involved with the Renegades, he coached minor hockey both in the CBR program and in Yellowknife and Frobisher Bay. In his role as school principal, Johnson also helped build culturally inclusive curriculum for Indigenous youth in northern communities.
The final inductee of the night was fastpitch softball star Don Hillier. A familiar and exiting figure on the mound for fans who remember the heyday of the sport in the 1970s and 80s, Hillier earned multiple MVP honours and led his teams to league and provincial championships both in Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario. He also excelled in volleyball and badminton. While a youth, he was named second runner-up for the 1979 CBS Male Athlete of the Year.
Folks also took a moment to remember former Hall of Fame inductee and lifelong volunteer Norm Simpson, who passed on March 11, 2025.
An all-star hockey and softball player in his youth, as a parent and volunteer, Simpson was a founding member of Holy Spirit Minor Hockey, Holy Spirit Minor Softball, and CBS Minor Baseball, and volunteered with many other groups, including the CBS figure skating Club. He was inducted into the CBS Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 both as an athlete and a builder and again in 2018 with his wife Isabel for their contributions to Holy Spirit School Minor Hockey, the precursor to the CBR Renegades. He himself served on the Hall of Fame Committee for many years putting in countless hours documenting the achievements of CBS athletes and coaches.
Simpson’s daughter Gail Parnham gave a brief tribute to her late father, and the other early volunteers like him.
“To be a volunteer took a lot of time, and still does,” said Parnham. “They didn’t have the infrastructure and council support we enjoy now. They would find coaches and officials or be them themselves. They did whatever had to be done to ensure the games would go on. Mom and dad would make wooden backdrops for the figure skating clubs, and he would dress up in a wig and a dress, with other persuaded volunteers, to entertain spectators until the skaters were ready to perform.”
Simpson received a Confederation 75th Anniversary Medal last year and posthumously received the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of his lifelong service.