Léon Paul Bougie was described by his family as a pioneer for the Town of Bonnyville.
The former councillor brought curling to the area and founded the senior citizens' centre.
These were among the many reasons why the town named the west end ball diamonds in his honour.
"Mr. Bougie was a dedicated member of our community for many years," explained Guy Vincent, chair for the Bonnyville naming committee. "Giving selflessly of his time to our town for a number of initiatives that he held dear to his heart."
On Saturday, May 18, the municipality unveiled the official sign for the park that will now be known as the Léon Paul Bougie Ballpark.
Council voted in favour of changing the name of the ball diamonds in June 2017, because of Bougie's dedication to the municipality.
"For all that Mr. Bougie has done for our community, be it for sports or for the senior citizens' centre, we felt it was important to honour such a great contributor to the Town of Bonnyville," Vincent stressed.
Bougie, who served 16 years on council, had a successful hockey career at Jesuit College in Edmonton before he moved to Bonnyville to be a grain buyer. He continued to play sports, both baseball and hockey, and would later become an umpire. He remained active in the community until his passing in 1991.
For Coun. Elisa Brosseau, the day had a personal connection for her. Bougie was her great-grandfather.
"He was a pioneer here in Bonnyville, so to have something with his name on it in Bonnyville just made me elated and extremely grateful," she expressed.
Dan Heney, Bougie's grandson, noted there were many ways to describe his grandfather to people that had never met him. He was a standard garage owner, team bus driver, volunteer, and local agent for Imperial Oil.
"I'm going to go a slightly different direction. Ignoring the fact that I was fortunate enough, as a child, to spend time with him, I'm going to describe Paul based on what I heard growing up from a number of amazing men that impacted my life," he detailed. "Men like Jean Paul Bougie, Jean Tetrault, Dennis Heney, Roger Tetrault, and Denis Bougie; men I loved and respected, their total love and respect for Léon Paul Bougie, that would mean he was very deserving of the dedication because he was a great man."
As a way to mark the occasion, family members came together to play baseball on the diamonds. Brosseau, who helped organize the event, said everyone was surprised over 70 people attended.
The unveiling had a special meaning for the family and will be an acknowledgement of all that Bougie did for his community.
"It's been a long process and a long waiting game, but now that it's come to fruition, I think, not only for me, but everybody that was here (to see it), it was an exciting day," Brosseau expressed.