Actor and comedian Scott Thompson of Kids in the Hall fame celebrates the unveiling of his name on the Downtown Walk of Fame on Sunday. Joining Thompson in this year's round of inductees is award-winning journalist Jim Rankin, former mayor Jack Burrows and former Ontario Premier Mike Harris. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI
In any city or town, there are always stars among stars; rare individuals who, through passion for their unique calling, have found a way to make an impact on a larger scale.
In an effort to recognize some of those exceptional individuals who have their roots tied to North Bay, the Kiwanis Club of Nipissing named the most recent inductees into the Downtown Walk of Fame this weekend.
This year, the club honoured former mayor Jack Burrows, actor and comedian Scott Thompson of Kids in the Hall fame, Toronto Star reporter and photojournalist Jim Rankin and former Ontario premier Mike Harris.
On Sunday morning, the honorees were on hand at the corner of Main Street and Ferguson Street where their respective stars were revealed for all of North Bay to acknowledge.
“When I first heard about this I felt kind of weird, but after I thought more about it I thought what better honour can there be than your home town to recognize what you’ve done so far in your life,” Rankin said in front of his star on Sunday.
The Kiwanis Club honored the inductees at a formal dinner event at the Clarion Resort Pinewood Park on the Saturday night. Each recipient was given the opportunity to speak to their appointment and the impact that North Bay has had on them.
Rankin, currently a feature writer for the Toronto Star, is an eight-time nominee and three-time winner of the National Newspaper Awards, as well as being the recipient of a Canadian Association of Journalists Award.
In 2002, Rankin led a team of journalists and researchers in an investigative series into race, policing and crime in the Toronto area, which ultimately won a Michener Award.
Despite his accomplishments and accolades on the big stage though, Rankin said he still feels a strong connection to North Bay and even more so now with his Walk of Fame star less than a block away from Railton’s Camera Shop, where he used to work and buy all his gear.
“With the company I’m in, I feel like I’m not worthy,” said Rankin. “My mom was really super excited, but mainly because she knew she would get the chance to meet Scott Thompson.”
Thompson, who hasn’t lived in the area since childhood, said he still considers North Bay home and credits the town with laying the foundation for his career.
He said that even if his name were to grace a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, his induction into North Bay’s would mean more.
“This is the one that matters,” Thompson said on Sunday. “The first eight years are very important in a persons life, especially when you have an artistic life, because there are those things that come into you and you can’t shake them no matter how hard you try, and there are certain things I always return to.
“For me, when I left North Bay when I was eight, it was like being yanked out of paradise.”
When the Kids in the Hall troupe returned to the North Bay area to film Death Comes to Town some five years ago, Thompson was battling health issues and had to undergo multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He said North Bay was a respite between battles for him.
“It was in North Bay that I got my health back and I started to climb back to health, so that’s very important to me,” he said.
Harris, who served as Ontario Premier from 1995 to 2002, wasn’t able to make the unveiling ceremony on Sunday morning but did attend the dinner on Saturday night before returning to Toronto.
Prior to serving as the premier, Harris held the position of MPP for Nipissing from 1981-2002 and has since gone on to serve as chairman of Magna International Inc., one of North America’s largest automotive parts suppliers, as well as lead an independent Canadian mission to observe the Ukrainian presidential election this year.
“It was great to see Mike back here and he is certainly someone whose name is synonymous with North Bay,” said Chris Mayne, the Kiwanis Club member who organized the Walk of Fame event.
Burrows, who passed away last year, was represented by a large group of his family on Sunday. The former mayor was recognized for his extraordinary involvement in municipal politics, serving as deputy mayor and mayor throughout his fifteen year career.
Some of his other local achievements include being awarded the Friend of Sport through the North Bay Hall of Fame, serving as the Honorary Colonel for the 22 Wing, receiving the Kiwanis Citizen of the Year award and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
“Many people still admire him as a true gentleman, a mayor and an advocate for North Bay,” Mayne said of Burrows’ legacy. “I think this is a terrific form of recognition.”
This year’s class was chosen from a group of 12 nominees, who were scrutinized by a selection committee and were elected based on roundtable discussion. The individuals that didn’t get selected this year will be reconsidered for the next round of induction.
Mayor Al McDonald originated the Walk of Fame in 2012, when inaugural honorees Michel Dupuis, cartoonist Lynn Johnston, father of ringuette Sam Jacks, former mayor Bruce Goulet, writer Giles Blunt and media personality Susan Hay were inducted.
From left, Toronto Star journalist Jim Rankin, Elaine Burrows and actor and comedian Scott Thompson.
