Richmond's Bert Fergus will be inducted into Badminton Canada's Hall of Fame in the builder category on Saturday.
The induction ceremony will take place at the ClearOne Badminton Centre in Fergus' hometown.
"For a long time, Bert was the 'Godfather' of organized badminton. Wherever he went and whatever he touched he always conscripted others to volunteer and follow in his footsteps," said Peter Goldring, President of Badminton Canada.
"He is a key reason that British Columbia has had strong representation at all levels of Badminton Canada for such a long time. The true strength of a builder is the character of the people he leaves behind as he moves through. He was a fierce competitor, for sure, however he was always a mentor and strong advocate of doing it right and giving back to the sport."
A native of Trail, Fergus first won a national championship in 1955, pairing with Daryl Thompson to win the men's doubles title and was on Canada's Thomas Cup team from 1958 to 1964. At the Masters level, he won 15 national gold medals from 1974-1998, and competed at the World Masters Games as recently as 1994.
A retired school principal, Fergus has spent nearly 50 years building the sport. He served on the Badminton B.C. Board of Directors in multiple roles, including two separate terms as President, and was on the Badminton Canada Board of Directors for eight years.
Internationally, he was Canada's Team Leader at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona (badminton's first appearance at the Olympic Games), was the Sport Chair for Badminton at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria and the Chair of the 2004 World Junior Badminton Championships in Richmond. In addition, he headed the Canadian delegation at nine different world championships and other major international events.
Fergus was named a life member of Badminton B.C. in 1986, the same year he became an honorary life member of the Vancouver Racquets Club. He won the International Badminton Federation (now the Badminton World Federation) Meritorious Service Award in 2004 and the 2004-05 Badminton Canada Volunteer of the Year Award.
