Fifteen years after her high school glory days, former William E. Hay basketball standout Leighann Doan-Reimer has been named to the Alberta High School Sports Hall of Fame.
At an induction ceremony this month in Edmonton, the Halkirk native was added to an illustrious list of Alberta athletes, coaches and administrators.
Now a married mother of three, Doan-Reimer was the athlete of the year at William E. Hay during her final two years of high school. She was a member of the Wildcats’ basketball, volleyball and track and field teams before going on to an all-Canadian basketball career with the University of Calgary Dinos and a stint with Canada’s national team. She also played pro in France.
“Playing high school sports obviously helped her,” said Stettler educator Kim Poapst, who presented Doan-Reimer with her induction award at the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association banquet.
“And that’s the biggest thing that ASAA is promoting by the hall of fame, is kids participating in high school sports and staying involved with high school sports, because they can work for the rest of their lives after that.
“It helps with time management, it’s a lot of fun, and you learn teamwork and that kind of stuff.”
Poapst and her husband Bob, also a Stettler teacher, attended the induction ceremony, along with Doan-Reimer’s parents, Bernie and Bernice Doan.
Doan-Reimer, who now lives in Three Hills with her husband Chad and their family, is a sister of Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan.
“Leighann is one of the most modest people you’ll ever know,” said Kim Poapst, who nominated Doan-Reimer for hall-of-fame induction. “One of her biggest strengths is her modesty and her hard work.
“We have her in our own backyard for our basketball camp.”
This Friday is the deadline to register for Stettler’s Camp Teckla, for which Doan-Reimer is the longtime head coach.
“Daysland and that area is very supportive of our camp, and has lots of people here all the time,” Poapst said. “We have a pretty good turnout, but not as many as I would think we could get from our (Stettler) area.
“Hopefully, we can get more kids out to Camp Teckla this year.”
The 16th annual edition of the camp runs July 2-6.
Camp Teckla is held in memory of Teckla Anderson, who was a teammate of Doan-Reimer’s in junior high school at Halkirk and for one year of high school in Stettler.
It’s estimated more than 2,000 athletes have participated in the camp during the past 15 years.
JOHN MacNEIL, Independent editor