Longtime Maple Ridge businessman Ron Jones will be honoured with a lifetime leadership and achievement award at the Kamloops 2024 Annual Summit of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
Jones has a lifetime of volunteer contributions at the highest levels of sport both in B.C. and nationally. He served as the president of the BC Lions, was a member of the executive committee of the CFL Board of Governors, and provided 38 years of service to the BC Sports Hall of Fame – including being elected chair in 1995. The business leader was owner of the West Coast Auto Group of car dealerships.
Involved in sports as an athlete, coach and organizer, Jones grew up in Vancouver, and moved to Maple Ridge at the age of 19. After coaching baseball and lacrosse, Jones helped start minor football in Maple Ridge, and among his many athletes was none other than Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Walker. Jones also served on the event committee for the 1986 BC Summer Games in Maple Ridge.
As a philanthropist, Jones' business operated the Founder's Cup charity golf tournament in Maple Ridge, which raised $3 million over 25 years, donated to charities and organizations.
“I couldn’t stay busy enough, because I loved all the things I was involved in,” said Jones, as he released his autobiography Wheels and Deals in 2021.
The BC Sports Hall of Fame Foundation will acknowledge him at a banquet on Sept. 20 in Kamloops. He was inducted into the hall in 2021.
Jones will be paid tribute along with Nancy Greene and Al Raine, who have been instrumental in the development and promotion of ski tourism in B.C., first at Whistler and now at Sun Peaks Resort in Kamloops.
“We are proud to present Lifetime Leadership & Achievement Awards to Nancy Greene, Al Raine and Ron Jones, three long-standing supporters of the BC Sports Hall of Fame in particular and BC sport in general,” said Michelle Kitchen, CEO of the BC Sports Hall of Fame.
