He was a teacher, a broadcaster, coach, and a family man who fought against ALS: for all these reasons, Pointe-Claire residents believe that a new park should bear Tony Proudfoot’s name.
Longtime friend Norm Horner, upon hearing about the unnamed space, took to Facebook and appealed to residents to write the city and plead their case for “Proudfoot Park.”
“I posted a picture of Tony and gave a bio of the contributions that he’d made in Pointe-Claire and to the City of Montreal,” Horner explained. “The reaction was astounding – the post was re-shared and liked by hundreds of people.”
Before his tenure as a teacher and a broadcaster, Proudfoot led the Montreal Alouettes to two Grey Cup wins.
“Proudfoot Park would have families there – and Tony was committed to his family,” explained former colleague and friend Rick Moffat, broadcaster with TSN 690.
“Tony was committed to sports at the amateur level, and the pros. To me, it’s a great way to come full circle for one of Pointe-Claire’s most famed residents,” he added.
The deadline for submissions was February 1st, and the city says it received 35 proposals, with 50 different names.
“There is a checklist and everybody will be treated the same way—and then there’s a point system,” said Point-Claire mayor John Belvedere. “It’s a process right? It’s not going to be easy because we’ve had so many great ideas put forward.”
The park is part of the City of Pointe-Claire’s new development project on land acquired from a company that’s moving.
Those who knew Proudfoot say the park would be the perfect tribute, since he spent so much of his life outdoors and in parks.
“I just can’t think of a more deserving candidate than Tony Proudfoot,” Moffat said.
The city is expected to render a decision on the park’s name in March.
