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Don Fillion and Helmut Lenes. Courtesy photo

Two longtime Shelburne community members are part of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2017, the VSHOF announced last week at St. Michael’s College.

Longtime Burlington Free Press sportswriter Don Fillion and mountain climbing pioneer Helmut Lenes are part of the 12-member class, which will be inducted on Saturday, April 22.

Fillion, who passed away in 2015, was a longtime Shelburne resident who covered local sports – from Little League to the Lake Placid Olympics – for over 30 years and is the first inductee to earn the Mal Boright Award, named in honor of longtime sportswriter known for his dedication to Vermont sports. In addition to working as a sportswriter and sports editor for the Free Press, Fillion also spent time with the St. Albans Messenger and was at the forefront of expanding coverage for women’s sports.

“Don Fillion loved covering sports in Vermont… Don poured his heart and soul in providing detailed information not only about the accomplishments of the athletes but in presenting those athletes as people,” said Ted Ryan, a member of the VSHOF Board of Directors. “It is very appropriate that Don Fillion is the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame’s first Mal Boright Inductee since both, sometimes as co-workers and sometimes as rivals, truly represented the finest of Vermont sports journalism.”

Lenes, a Shelburne resident, is the David K. Hakins Inductee for 2017 based on his contribution as a business leader in exceptional promotion and development of sports in Vermont. Lenes spent time as a mountain guide and ski instructor in Austria before moving to Vermont in 1968, where he eventually established Climb High in Shelburne, a company that promoted mountain and rock climbing. Lenes has climbed Denali (Mount McKinley) twice, Mount Rainer, the Grand Tetons, the top of the Himalayas, Gasherbrum, and the Matterhorn.

The VSHOF’s fifth induction class also includes Olympic skiers Betsy Snite Riley and Lindy Cochran Kelley, Middlebury coach Missy Foote, St. Michael’s College coach Ed Markey, Burlington’s Bernie Cieplicki Sr., U.S. Nordic ski legend John Caldwell, Olympic equestrian gold medalist Tad Coffin, Golden Gloves champ Tony Robitaille, hockey and soccer star Guy Gaudreau, and legendary distance runner Clarence DeMar.

The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame dinner and celebration presented by Casella will be held on Saturday, April 22, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Burlington in South Burlington. Ticket information will be available on www.vermontsportshall.com.

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