Westdale Secondary School
700 Main Street West L8S1A5 Hamilton, ON, Canada

Jim Vanderveken will be inducted into the 2018 Wall of Distinction June 8th at Westdale Secondary School. Jim is a recognized leader in Canada in education, cooperative education and conceiving and leading innovating programming to support community vitality and success at Mohawk College. Jim led the ground breaking work to develop Hamilton’s Community Access Strategy which focused on the role education could play as a path out of poverty in the city. This work spawned Mo...hawk’s sector leading College in Motion program, Community Integration through Cooperative Education program and leadership in partnerships with the regions school boards. Unique in Canada, and considered world leading, City School by Mohawk and its City School Mobile are his latest innovation. City School by Mohawk is a community based initiative that aims to break down barriers to education and employment by bringing learning into some of Hamilton and the region’s most vulnerable communities. For most of its students, participation in City School is a life-changing experience. Jim’s inspiration, collaborative style and passion for providing pathways to all learners has left a significant mark on our schools, our students and our community. See more

Martin Ten Hove will be inducted into the 2018 Wall of Distinction June 8th at Westdale Secondary School. Martin combined his athletic and academic pursuits for over a decade. While completing two engineering degrees, he managed to sail competitively at the international level, including the 1983 Pan Am Games and the 1984 Olympics. He then studied medicine while coaching the 470 National Team leading up to the 1988 Olympics. He was recognized with a CAC coaching excellence award when one of his crews won the World Championships in 1986. He believes strongly that athletes need to give back to their sport. In 2002, he founded a program in Kingston for sailors with physical disabilities. He is now the Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Queen’s University where he practices and teaches Neuro-ophthamology.

Diana Panton will be inducted into the 2018 Wall of Distinction June 8th at Westdale Secondary School. Diana Panton is one of Canada's top jazz vocalists. Her ethereal voice and strong aesthetic vision have earned her numerous honours, including two JUNO wins, five JUNO nominations and two Silver Disc Awards in Japan. Her critically acclaimed self-produced albums have made bestseller lists in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, as well as #1 on Amazon and iTunes in Canada and the US... where her album topped Amazon.com's "Movers and Shakers Chart" and also debuted at #8 on Billboard. Her albums have been highlighted on year-end jazz lists, including those of DownBeat, Japan's Jazz Critique Magazine, Radio Canada's ICI Musique, NOW Magazine and The Montreal Mirror. Panton has appeared on the magazine covers of NOW, VIEW etc. She was one of four vocalists selected worldwide to perform in France at Jazz à Juan Révélations where she was voted Première dauphine by the Juan public. Born and raised in Hamilton, Diana was a student at Westdale Secondary and now she is a teacher here. See more

Harrison Kennedy will be inducted into the 2018 Wall of Distinction June 8th at Westdale Secondary School. Harrison Kennedy was an original member of the Detroit soul super group The Chairmen of the Board, with a million-selling hit "Gimme Just a Little More Time". He appeared on Soul Train, American Bandstand and The Tonight Show and was the opening act for artists, such as B.B. King, Isaac Hayes and James Brown. In 2007, Kennedy began producing albums as a solo artist and as of 2018, he has six JUNO nominations and one win. Kennedy is the recipient of the 2018 SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award, the Reverend John C. Holland Award, L'Académie Charles Cros Award in France and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Hamilton Music Awards, as well as the Pennsylvania Blues Festival.

Charles Chiarelli will be inducted into the 2018 Wall of Distinction June 8th at Westdale Secondary School. Charles Chiarelli was born in Racalumuto, Sicily and raised in Hamilton. He attended Westdale High School in the 1960s then went on to acquire a BA in Psychology at McMaster University and a teaching certificate from the University of Toronto and an MSW at Carleton University. Charles was an innovator in the mental health field, serving as the Mental Health and Addictio...ns Consultant with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. His passion has always been the Arts and now he can pursue this exclusively. Charles is an accomplished musician: a virtuoso harmonica player, vocalist and composer performing in several bands and as a studio musician. Charles was a founding member of the Toronto Storytelling Festival where he frequently performed. Charles is known for his one man shows, writing and performing: Cu'Fu, Mangaicake and Charly's Piano, plus receiving top billing in the 2000 Theatre Aquarius production of On Albert Street. He has performed and co-written several plays and musicals. Charles is the star of the 2018 film, Road to The Lemon Grove. Charles is the recipient of the Italian Heritage Award of Distinction for Arts and Entertainment and a member of the McMaster University Gallery of Distinguished Alumni. See more