SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A curler, a volleyball player and a retired phys-ed teacher.

The Falcon Hall of Fame's class of 2017 was inducted at Sir John Franklin High School this past Friday. They are, from left, Kerry Galusha, Laurene Head and Bill Burlington. - photo courtesy of Andrea Pellerin

These three join, as the 2017 class, in the Falcon Hall of Fame at Sir John Franklin High School. They received their due this past Friday as the school held the induction ceremony for the second batch of the school's best and brightest over the years.

Curler Kerry Galusha joined her older brother, Kevin Koe, in the hall. Koe was an inductee as part of the inaugural class last year.

Galusha's induction means two of the three Koe siblings now reside in the hall. She said, in jest, she now has something to brag about to Jamie Koe, her twin brother.

"I get to hold this over his head now," she said. "My brothers have always had the accolades and now I have this."

Galusha's induction came on the heels of another great season on the ice. She finally managed to escape the pre-qualification round of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts and almost earned a playoff spot.

She said the best way to describe her reaction when she was told was one of shock.

"Evelyn Straker (Sir John Franklin employee) called me and told that I was being inducted and was shocked," she said. "All I can remember is I got really nervous because it's such a big deal. She told me I had a great year and it's such an honour."

Galusha, known for her curling exploits over the years, admitted she wasn't too much into scholastic sports at the school except for soccer.

"Bill Burlington was my phys-ed teacher and he talked about that (at the ceremony)," she said.

Speaking of Burlington, he's is a fondly remembered phys-ed teacher who taught at the school from 1985 to 2012. He's a legend at the school and that wasn't lost on Paul Shearme, Sir John Franklin's phys-ed department head.

Shearme, who took over from Burlington after his retirement, said 'Burly', as he was known to his students, definitely fit the mould of the builder's category.

"Any hall of fame will have your athletes and builders categories and he definitely belongs with the builders," he said. "He's made a lot of contributions to the school and a lot of athletes went through him at some point, thousands of athletes."

Laurene Head is the volleyball player and without fail earned her place alongside Galusha and Burlington. She may not be as well-known as the other two but she has a wonderful resume in the sport. Head played with the national women's volleyball team after her Grade 12 year at the school.

Shearme said the nomination came in from Rob Meckling, a familiar name in NWT sport to people who have been around long enough. He said her name was a bit of a surprise to him.

"When we looked at what she did, what she did is pretty outstanding," he said. "In her own words, she was a basketball player. She only picked up volleyball to go to the Arctic Winter Games and was recruited to go to national team tryouts from that."

To round out her Sir John Franklin life, Head came back to teach at the school for two years after her volleyball career ended.

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