Ormstown Saracens Close the Season with Annual Banquet

Family, friends and supporters joined the Ormstown Saracens for an evening of fun and recognition.

On Saturday evening, November 14th, the Ormstown Saracens Rugby Club held their annual banquet at Les Vergers Ivanhöe Faille in Franklin. Kicking off with a cocktail hour at 6:00 P.M., a gathering of 65 people later enjoyed a chicken and rib dinner prepared by the staff at the local orchard before the organization handed out awards.

Notable speakers of the night included Stephen Kaplan and Doug Murdoch. Kaplan, who was the head coach of the women’s team for the past four years, announced that he would be stepping down from the Lady Saracens. Under his leadership, the women’s team won numerous titles including two provincial 15s championships, three 7s provincial championships and the prestigious New York 7s title in 2013. Murdoch gave a heartfelt introduction to 2015 Hall of Fame inductee Normand Landry, going into great detail about Landry's passion for the game and his pivotal role in rugby development in the Chateauguay Valley over the course of the past fifteen years.

Award winners of the evening included (top row pictured from left to right) Garry Hamilton, Member at Large; Shawn Blair, Men's MVP runner-up; Jamie Bohemen, Hardest Worker; Alex Sample for his sister Miranda Sample, Women's Triple D Trophy; Graeme McClintock, Rod Beattie Trophy; Corey Caza, Men's MIP; Johan Maartens, Most Social; Fraser McClintock, Men's MVP; (bottom row) Normand Landry, Hall of Fame Inductee 2015; Erika Scott, Women's MVP Runner-up; Chloe Duncan, Women's MVP; Sophie Van Horne, Women's Rookie of the Year; and Mark Sample, Men's Rookie of the Year.

President Samantha Rankin was also in attendance. President since 2014, Rankin has been playing rugby since 2008. The young club leader had this to say about the event, “The evening was a great success and a wonderful showcase of rugby talent in the valley. A big thank you to Les Vergers Ivanhöe Faille for hosting us, our masters of ceremonies Jason Aldridge and Erika Scott and to DJ Sasha Geukjian for a memorable event.” Founded in 1972 by Rod Beattie and Dave Hardy, the Ormstown Saracens Rugby Club is a long-standing team based in the Ormstown area. The club is presently composed of four teams, including a senior men's team, a senior women’s team, and two junior teams. Most recently, the club incorporated a mini rugby academy for children aged 8 to 14. The team is a member of the Quebec Rugby Federation.