It took just two phone calls to raise $500,000 to establish the endowment for McGill’s new Jean Béliveau Awards and, according to the team of donors behind the initiative, the fast, enthusiastic response was a testament to the lasting legacy of one of Montreal’s most beloved sports legends and community leaders.
“Jean Béliveau was a special man, a great athlete and, more importantly, someone who cared about people,” says George Lengvari, BCL’66, chairman of Lengvari Capital Ltd. Lengvari made the initial calls which brought together several McGill alumni and donors (including Terry Tretiak of Lengvari Capital, The Rossy Family Foundation, the Joe Weider Foundation, Power Corporation and the Martlet Foundation) to create the new athletic financial awards.
The awards, which recognize athletes who have demonstrated academic achievement and leadership in student and/or community affairs, were formally announced at a news conference on November 23, along with the inaugural winners, physical and health education students Mélodie Daoust and Joel Houle.
Daoust, a Canadian Olympian and captain of the McGill Martlets hockey team, combines on-ice excellence with off-ice leadership as a community ambassador for McGill Athletics and Recreation, as well as through her involvement in numerous youth sports camps and clinics. Houle, a tight-end and co-captain with the McGill football team, complements his gridiron achievements with volunteer work at several Montreal hospitals.
“I grew up looking up to Jean Béliveau,” says Daoust. “As a hockey player I wanted to become like him.”
Houle recalls the legacy of Béliveau as someone who was dedicated to his work and his community and he described some of the current challenges facing McGill’s student athletes as they try to balance the demands of studies, athletics and financial support.
“I’d like to thank McGill for supporting me,” he says. “Having this financial award means I can focus on my studies.”
The Jean Béliveau Awards are destined to support even more student athletes in future years. The endowed fund is expected to generate approximately $25,000 a year which will be used for awards for up to four full-time varsity student-athletes (two men and two women).
“The University is honoured to have Jean Béliveau’s name linked to the athletic excellence and community leadership of our students,” says Marc Gélinas, BEd’93, MA’89, executive director of McGill Athletics and Recreation.
Béliveau skated for 18 seasons with the Canadiens from 1953-1971; he was a member of 10 Stanley Cup-winning teams as a player and seven more as an executive with the team. Off the ice, Béliveau supported charities in Quebec and throughout Canada. In 2006, McGill conferred an honorary doctor of laws degree upon Béliveau in recognition of his athletic accomplishments, his leadership both on and off the ice, and his tireless contributions to the community.
“Jean didn’t have the chance to go university, but he had great respect for McGill,” says Béliveau’s widow, Élise, who along with her daughter, Hélène, presented the awards to the inaugural winners. “If he were here, he’d be very honoured.”
