‍ATHLETES

Sami Jo Small, OLY

Sami Jo Small represented Team Manitoba three times at the Canada Games.

Sami Jo made her Canada Games debut in women’s hockey at the 1991 Canada Games in Prince Edward Island. She also represented Team Manitoba in athletics at the 1993 Canada Games in Kamloops, British Columbia, and the 1997 Canada Games in Brandon, Manitoba.

At the age of 14, Sami Jo competed in hockey at the 1991 Canada Winter Games, when women's hockey made its debut. A true multi-sport athlete, Sami Jo was also involved in many other sports and school endeavours. At the 1997 Canada Games in Brandon, Manitoba, she won the gold in javelin and silver in discus and was named Team Manitoba's flag bearer for the Closing Ceremony. And she attended Stanford University on a track and field scholarship, graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

She served as the third goalie at the first-ever women’s Olympic hockey tournament at the 1998 Olympic Games, and the team captured a silver medal. She went on to become Canada's starting goaltender in 1999. Canada won three straight World Championships from 1999 through 2001, and Sami Jo was twice named to the World Championship All-Star team and as the tournament’s top goaltender. Sami Jo competed in two more Olympic Games in 2002 and 2006, where Canada won two Olympic gold medals, and added two more World Championship titles in 2004 and 2007.

Since 1998, her hockey school has been running in Manitoba and Ontario.

After her time with the national team, Small helped found the Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2007. She played in the league for 10 seasons, winning the league’s top honour in 2014, before becoming the General Manager of the Toronto Furies. Currently, she is the President of the Toronto Six of the Premier Hockey Federation.

Heather Moyse, OLY

Heather Moyse represented Prince Edward Island as a sprinter at the 1997 Canada Games in Brandon, Manitoba.

Following a successful university career where she excelled in rugby and track, Heather began competing in bobsleigh and won the Canadian Championships in her rookie season. In bobsleigh, Heather won Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014 and a World Championship bronze in 2011.

Heather also starred with the Canadian National Rugby Team, representing Canada at the 2006 and 2010 Rugby World Cup. Representing Canada in Rugby Sevens, Heather won a silver medal at the 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup. In 2016, Heather was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame – the first Canadian woman and second Canadian overall to receive this honour.

Heather has a strong connection to the community and is involved in many charitable organizations, including Right to Play, True Patriot Love Foundation, Hope Sports, and Camp Triumph. She uses her personal experience – and professional training as an occupational therapist – to encourage and inspire others to embrace challenges and face adversity head-on, to believe in the possibilities of achieving their dreams, and to step outside of their comfort zones to discover and maximize their potential whether in sport, business, or life.

Because of her passion and outstanding involvement in the community, among other honours, Heather has received the inaugural Randy Starkman Olympian Humanitarian Award, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, and the Order of PEI.

Marc Gagnon, OLY

Marc Gagnon represented Quebec in speed skating at the 1991 Canada Games in Prince Edward Island.

Since his participation at the 1991 Canada Games, Marc has gone on to achieve stellar accomplishments both athletically and professionally, dominating the international short track speed skating scene from 1993 to 2003. A three-time Olympian, Marc is a five-time Olympic medallist and one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians.

Marc captured four overall World Championship titles during his career, making him the first four-time champion. And throughout his speed skating career, he won 22 individual World Championship medals (10 gold, eight silver, four bronze) and six medals in the men’s relay (two gold, three silver, one bronze).

Inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame in 2007 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008, he is also a member of Speed Skating Canada’s Hall of Fame and the Quebec Speed Skating Hall of Fame.

He continues to inspire and give back to the short track speed skating community as a coach and mentor to aspiring athletes. In 2010, Marc joined the short track speed skating Canadian Regional Training Center (CRCE) in Montreal as a coaching staff member. In 2014, he got promoted to Head Coach of the CRCE. As of January 2021, Marc is the short track National Team Assistant Coach of both the men’s and women’s national teams.

BUILDER

Vicki Keith, CM

A swimming coach for Team Ontario at the 2009 and 2017 Canada Games, Vicki Keith is a prolific marathon swimmer who has raised over $1 million to help children with physical disabilities.

Vicki has held at least 16 world records, and her marathon swims crossed many of the world’s most challenging bodies of water. The first person to swim across all five Great Lakes, Vicki has been appointed as a member of the Order of Canada in recognition of her outstanding achievements and service. In 1998, her most famous arrival and departure point was renamed after her. The headlands of the Leslie Street Spit in Toronto are now called Vicki Keith Point. She was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame in 1996 and the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 2003.

After retiring in 1991, Vicki dedicated herself to helping young athletes with physical disabilities develop new skills and build self-confidence in a positive sport environment. In 2001, she founded the YMCA Penguins aquatics program at the YMCA in Kingston, Ontario. Under her guidance, the Y Penguins became Canada's largest para swim team. Pushing for greater inclusion, Vicki helped swimming become one of the most integrated sports in Canada. Many young athletes she has coached have set Canadian records at elite levels of competition and world records in open-water swimming.

In 2005, Vicki came out of retirement to raise funds for a new pool in Kingston, swimming 80.2 kilometres in Lake Ontario and setting a new world record for the long-distance butterfly.

Inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, Vicki was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Dr. Heather Morrison

Dr. Heather Morrison competed as a field hockey athlete with Team Prince Edward Island (PEI) at the 1989 Canada Games in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Then she was team manager at the 1993 Canada Games in Kamloops, British Columbia.

Dr. Morrison has been the Chief Public Health Officer for PEI since July 2007. Completing a Bachelor of Science degree at UPEI in 1991, Morrison became the first woman from PEI to become a Rhodes Scholar, completing her Master’s degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Oxford University. Dr. Morrison then completed her medical degree at Dalhousie University, with a residency at the University of Toronto.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of PEI delegated responsibility to Dr. Morrison to guide PEI through the pandemic. A daunting task, Dr. Morrison continues to deliver her messages in an empathetic, people-focused way of science communications. Her slogan, “be patient and kind,” offers a reminder of the importance and value of caring while working together.

A leader and a role model who has unselfishly served all Islanders, Dr. Morrison continues to practice emergency medicine in addition to her full-time role as the Chief Public Health Officer. Dr. Morrison is a recipient of the 2021 Order of Prince Edward Island for showing individual excellence and outstanding leadership in their community and profession.