StartingLineup
Board of Directors
Jeremy Diamond (Chair)
Jeremy is a public historian and leader with more than 20 years of experience in fundraising, program development and communications. Currently the Founding CEO of the RCAF Foundation, Jeremy has also held leadership roles as CEO of Myseum of Toronto, Executive Director of the Vimy Foundation and COO of Historica Canada and is frequent media contributor. In his spare time, Jeremy coaches Select baseball in North York, Ontario.
Lyle Abbott (Treasurer)
Lyle is a Chartered Accountant in Canada and a Certified Public Accountant in the US who brings diverse industry and sector experience in accounting, finance, strategic planning, and new business development to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. In addition to his work in public accounting, Lyle brings a solid background in sport management from his work in professional baseball, event management (most notably with the Vancouver2010 Winter Olympic Games), and his extensive work in the not-for-profit sector. An avid baseball fan, Lyle grew up cheering on the Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium while always rooting – and forever keeping the faith – for the San Diego Padres.
Scott Smith (Secretary)
Scott is a Managing Director at BMO Capital Markets in the Equity Capital Markets group that is responsible for all equity underwritings. He has been in the financial industry for over 25 years. Born in Montreal and graduated from Concordia University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Married and has a son and a daughter. He is a lifelong Montreal Expos fan that converted to a Blue Jays fan in 2004 and attends baseball spring training every year.
Jay Chaney
A known challenger, Chaney is a founder of Broken Heart Love Affair, a Canadian creative agency focused on brand transformation and brand domination with a mission to bring the love back to advertising for consumers, clients and the creative community. The agency won Silver Newcomer in Adage’s small agency, small agency of the year in 2022. The agency has completely changed the structural approach to advertising and is leading the charge on changing the economics of it as well.
Jay has been Canada’s top planner on the Creative Report Card and was listed as one of 4 top Planners in the world in 2018, according to Adage. He is known for pushing the limits of advertising and redefining and championing the strategy and planning role in Canada. He has contributed to several internationally game-changing and award-winning campaigns; including, SickKids VS, Kruger Paper Products’ ‘Unapologetically Human’, Honey Nut Cheerios ‘Bring Back the Bees’, and, Royal Ontario Museums ‘Immortal’, and McDonald’s ‘Our Food Your Questions’, which set a global standard for transparency in advertising.
Jay was previously CCO at KOHO and CSO at Cossette. He has also held strategy roles at Lg2, Tribal DDB, Critical Mass, and Blast Radius. He is formerly Chair of the Strategy Program at Toronto’s Miami Ad School.
He grew up playing ball in Calgary’s AA system as a pitcher (aptly nicknamed Ricky Vaughn for his “you guess where it’s going heat”), in a sports crazed family. His grandfather indoctrinated him into the game and into being, unfortunately, a die-hard, lifelong Jays fan. Jay currently helps to train his CFO’s son in the batting cages on weekends.
Corinne Chow
Corinne has had a rewarding career with the Federal Public Service and lives in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Corinne’s love of baseball started when a friend suggested that she coach youth baseball as a means of completing a 125-hour internship. This was the start of a lifetime of various roles in the baseball community. Corinne is currently a director on the board of Little League Baseball Canada and Little League British Columbia. She has also served as a director on the Little League Baseball International, Inc. Corinne holds a BGS from Simon Fraser University and enjoys travelling and the company of family and friends.
Rob Edney (ex officio)
Rob is serving his second term on St. Marys council, and holds the Deputy Mayor position for 2021. Rob is a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist and has been a popular performer in Toronto and throughout Ontario for 4 decades. Outside of music and municipal politics, Rob enjoys baseball, hockey, attending concerts, travel, and art galleries. He has a passion for social justice, and believes that art, culture and sport are a strong means to that end. Since moving to St. Marys in 2000, Rob has been a big supporter of the Hall, lending his musical talents to many ceremonies, including singing the anthem at the 2019 induction ceremony.
Holly LaPierre
Holly retired from Bell Canada after 33 years in 2021. She has been the president of Hammonds Plains Minor Baseball, a suburb of Halifax, since 2006. Holly also held the position of treasurer for Baseball Canada and Baseball Nova Scotia. In 2018 she received the first ever female builder award from Baseball Canada for her dedication to the growth and promotion of female baseball. Being from the East Coast, she naturally was a Boston Red Sox fan, but the rise of the Blue Jays thru the mid 80’s swung her loyalty to Canada’s team.
Candy McEwan
Candy is an elementary school teacher with the Avon Maitland District School Board. She has worked for over 20 years in her own classroom as well as a support for other teachers. She is currently president of St. Marys Minor Ball, having been involved with the association for over 15 years as a parent, coach and executive member. Other than attending the University of Waterloo and the University of Windsor, Candy has been a lifelong resident and ball player in St. Marys. Candy has enjoyed her various roles being involved with her children’s baseball, ringette and hockey teams.
Roger Ramsay
Roger is a high school vice-principal with the Avon Maitland District School Board. His leadership career spans two decades, with a focus on student success, e-Learning and community engagement. He is skilled in the area of partnership development and creative problem-solving, and enjoys connecting with baseball fans in ballparks across North America. Roger has coached various high school sports, including baseball, over the years, as well as serving as a community baseball coach. He grew up volunteering at local museums in his hometown of Hamilton where he learned the value of living history and interactive exhibits. He enjoys attending Toronto Blue Jays games in Toronto on the weekends, and spends his March Breaks in Dunedin, Florida with his wife, Kerry, where they cheer on the Jays during Spring Training Camp.
Michelle Seniuk
Currently, the VP, Fan Experience & Concessions at Toronto Blue Jays. Has been a member of the Toronto Blue Jays staff since 2012. Prior to working for the Blue Jays Michelle attended Ryerson University and Humber College.
Chris Stamper
Chris Stamper is the President and Principal of Sixteen Mile Strategy Group. Chris is a dynamic business executive with a broad management career spanning 30 years in a variety of functions with a speciality in marketing and corporate strategy.
Chris is the former Chief Marketing Office for TD Canadian Banking and led the acquisition of signature sponsorship properties including the Toronto Blue Jays. Chris is a recognized champion, advocate and ally for diversity and inclusion and is committed to giving back to his community. As a sports enthusiast, he has volunteered for over 15 years as a coach for a number of youth sports teams in Oakville. Chris lives in Oakville, Ontario with his wife Karen and is a part time empty nester with his two children Johnathon and Mackenzie.
Al Strathdee (ex officio)
Al is currently serving his second term as Mayor of the Town of St. Marys. He is a local small business owner, and holds an Honours BA in History and Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University and a B. Ed. from the University of Ottawa. Al and his wife Gloria have three children and enjoy travel and supporting local community causes in their spare time.
Libby Walker
Libby has worked in the field of museum programming and community engagement for many years, with museum management roles in Halton, Wellington County and Waterloo Region. Her experience ranges from front line historic interpretation to the development and coordination of engaging and relevant community programming. Libby and her husband Steve currently reside in beautiful Parry Sound and are parents of two adult children. As a family, sports and travel are key interests; combining both at the same time is often the goal. Nothing beats a good Blue Jay road trip! Libby is pleased to apply her experience and skills to the continued growth and success of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Brian Ward
Brian is a lawyer and the co-owner of W&W Dispute Resolution Services Inc. Through his firm, he has provided independent third party services to over 20 national sport organizations and has provided dispute resolution services including mediation and adjudication services to numerous sport organizations at the club and provincial levels. He was one part of the OSIC Working Group and he is a tribunal member with the International Equestrian Federation. Previously Brian provided athlete representation services and practiced law in Ontario in insurance/civil litigation. Brian was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1988, holds a B.C.L and LL.B from McGill University (1986), an Executive Certificate in Conflict Management (2015) from the University of Windsor and an Advanced Certificate in Adjudication from York University (Osgoode Law School) (2018)
Mike Wilner
Mike currently writes about baseball for the Toronto Star. In the past he was the radio voice of the Canada’s sole major-league baseball team, Mike has long been a staunch supporter of baseball in Canada. Born and raised in Toronto, Mike began his baseball broadcasting career with the Welland (Ont.) Pirates in 1989. He later hosted the popular call-in show BlueJaysTalk for a record 17 seasons before becoming the Blue Jays’ first Canadian-born radio play-by-play broadcaster in 2019. From interacting with baseball fans after every game for nearly two decades to broadcasting Canada’s World Baseball Classic games in 2009 to hosting the annual Baseball Canada Awards Banquet, Mike has never wavered in his support and commitment to growing, teaching and promoting the game from coast to coast to coast. Single, with two teenage daughters, Mike is proud to have been on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame since 2016.
Cecil Wright
Cecil recently retired after a 20+ year career in public safety, Cecil is well known in the Halifax, Nova Scotia sports community. He is the former head coach of the Dalhousie Tigers Baseball team that won the Canadian Intercollegiate Baseball Association championship in 1996 before coaching the Halifax Pelham Canadians in the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League. A staunch Boston Red Sox fan, only because he and his family moved from Nova Scotia to Boston as a child, he returned to his roots in 1984. Quite involved with the media, Cecil hosts his own community television show in addition to a sports and music radio show.
Staff
Scott Crawford (Director of Operations)
Born and raised in Georgetown, Ontario and has been the Director of Operations at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum since January 2000. Prior to that he completed his Sports Administration degree at Durham College in Oshawa and obtained his BA in Anthropology/Archaeology at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. Completed the Ontario Museum Association Museum Certificate. Currently ranked 95th in Bob Elliott’s top 140 list of most influential Canadians in baseball.
Lindsay Earle (Care of Collections and Public Engagement Supervisor)
Lindsay joined the staff of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in January 2024. She has an undergraduate degree in English and Classical History from Brock University, and a post-graduate degree from Fleming College in Cultural Heritage Conservation and Management. Lindsay’s museum career began as a costumed interpretive guide, first at Fort George NHS in the summer of 2014, and later at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons from 2015-2020. From 2020-2023 Lindsay worked as the History Programming Coordinator at the Orillia Museum of Art & History. Lindsay was raised with a love of baseball, and has been playing softball every summer since she was eleven years old. Being able to combine her love of both history and baseball is a dream come true!
Amanda Weber – (Financial and Fundraising Administration Coordinator) – maternity leave
Amanda has been with the Hall of Fame since 2021 in various capacities since completing her BA (Honours) French at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Bryan McShane will be taking over the office duties while Amanda is away.
