1st Hall of Fame Outstanding Contributor Inductee
What is the Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games Hall of Fame?
A new Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games Hall of Fame is being introduced as part of our upcoming 80th Anniversary celebrations. There will be two levels of recognition – Fearless Leader, recognizing past presidents of the Festival, and Outstanding Contributor, acknowledging those individuals who have contributed significantly to the Festival and organization. Only individual persons are eligible for nomination.
“The Festival would not be celebrating 80 years without the significant contributions of our volunteers, partners, and supporters” says Elizabeth Bender, Executive Director of the Festival, adding “it is wonderful to have a chance to acknowledge their contributions.” Inductees will be announced each spring and recognition will take place at the Festival.
“The idea of a Hall of Fame Recognition Program has been something the Board has thought about for many years.” says Matthew Bennett-Monty, President of the Festival. “With the 80th Anniversary celebrations in full swing, the timing was right to move forward with this new program.” Bennett-Monty added that “for 2025, in honour of our 80th Anniversary, the Board of Directors are pleased to announce that the first inductee into the Hall of Fame Outstanding Contributor category is Festival founder, Alex Robertson."
Nominations Closed.
Hall of Fame FAQs
The idea of a Hall of Fame Recognition Program has been something the board has thought about for many years. With the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Festival currently underway, it was timely to move forward with this new program.
There will be two levels of individual recognition:
Fearless Leader – All Past Presidents of the Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games will be recognized and included in this category.
Outstanding Contributor – these individuals are peer nominated and selected annually by the Board of Directors.
Anyone may nominate an individual for induction to the Outstanding Contributor level. Only individual persons are eligible for nomination. Up to three (3) letters of support are encouraged. Nominations may be completed online or in hard-copy format.
Self-nominations will not be accepted.
Nominees need not be members of the Festival.
No.
Yes.
Nomination forms are available online year-round and need to be completed and submitted to the Festival office no later than December 1 of the current year. Hall of Fame inductees will be selected by the Board of Directors based upon the completed and submitted nomination package only.
Incomplete submissions and those not meeting the criteria or deadlines will be returned to the nominators, who will be encouraged to consider resubmitting in a subsequent year.
There will be no minimum or maximum number of award recipients in any given year.
The nomination package will be evaluated by the Board of Directors on the nominee’s significant contributions to the Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games; the nominee’s organizational involvement and leadership roles; and the nominee’s legacy.
Inductees to the Fearless Leader and Outstanding Contributors levels will be announced in early April (on or about Tartan Day) through a media release and on the Festival website.
Each inductee will receive a Certificate of Congratulations, two (2) weekend passes to the Fergus Scottish Festival & Highland Games; and two (2) passes to the VIP tent, only in the year they are inducted.
Fearless Leader and Outstanding Contributor recipients will be acknowledged/recognized during the opening ceremonies in the current year.
A new section on the website will promote the Hall of Fame initiative and the Hall
of Fame recipients.
The new Hall of Fame initiative will be introduced in June 2025, and promoted leading up to the 80th Anniversary Festival. For 2025 only, the Outstanding Contributor recipients (if any) will be selected based upon a Board discussion only.
Nominations for 2026 will open Monday, August 11th, 2025.
FAQ & General Info
General questions about Festival weekend?
Visit our General Information and FAQ’s page!
