The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is looking for public input regarding the renaming of St. Clair College baseball diamonds after one of the founding members of the Maple City Slo-Pitch League (MCSPL).
The league has put in a formal request to rename the ball diamonds at the Thames Campus in Chatham to Bob Weedon Field, after Robert (Bob) Weedon.
He spent more the 50 years involved in local sports. After helping form the MCSPL, Weedon was elected president in 1978 and he held that role until 2019.
However, he also branched out to other community sports. Weedon held different positions within the Slo-Pitch Ontario Association. At one point, he was an umpire in the Ontario Special Olympics Summer Games in 1997 and at the World Special Olympic Games in 1999.
Weedon is a member of the Chatham Sports Hall of Fame, a member of the Slo-Pitch Ontario Association Hall of fame, and is a recipient of the Government of Ontario Syl Apps Volunteer Achievement Award.
"Bob was very instrumental when St. Clair College was looking to build the Diamonds at the College. MCSPL has contacted the administration of St. Clair College and they are fully supportive of this initiative," read the MCSPL formal request to the municipality. "Our community is a better place with someone as passionate as Bob and words cannot express one’s lifetime of giving."
Residents who would like to have a say on the possible name change are asked to voice their opinion. No registration is needed to take part in the municipal survey. It will close to the public on July 24 and will then go to council for a decision.
A full list of the awards and recognitions Weedon has received can be found on the request made by the MCSPL.
