Hall Of Fame Inductee

Dave Post

Inducted into: Builder Division in 2007

Location: Peterborough

  • Builder

Inspired by his father, the late William (Bill) Post, Dave Post has been a coach, an administrator and a volunteer for over forty years. Prior to his passing in 1961, Bill Post was a prominent referee and coach in Peterborough, specializing in both hockey and lacrosse.

Dave followed in these footsteps and initially played church league hockey, prior to his first coaching assignment in local minor hockey. By eighteen, Dave was refereeing in both the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and the Ontario Lacrosse Association. However, Dave soon realized that he possessed leadership skills and this talent was recognized by others as well. In 1967, he became supervisor of officials for both hockey and lacrosse and also became involved at the administrative level. For five years, from 1976 to 1981. Dave was president of the large and prestigious Peterborough Minor Hockey Association.

In addition, by this time, Dave had finally settled into daily life in his hometown. In 1966, he joined General Electric in the printing department and, three years later, he married Judy Livingstone and this union produced two children, Trevor and Michelle. Peterborough had two large bowling centres, namely Lakeview and Bowlerama and while Dave had bowled at Lakeview, he chose to enroll his children at Bowlerama, which was located in the towns north end.

At Bowlerama, Dave met Jim Northey, a gentlemen who would become the first of several mentors who would guide Daves bowling career. Dave began as an instructor at Peterborough Bowlerama, became a Level Two certified coach, served as Program Director for nineteen years and also five years as YBC Zone Representative when the new Kawartha Lakes Association was begun in 1999.

Armed with his Level Two coaching certification, Jim Northey not only passed on some tips on the coaching aspect of bowling, but he also introduced Dave to the youth and adult programs as offered by the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers Association. Overall, Dave coached at twenty two consecutive provincial Opens for teams from both Great Pine Ridge and Kawartha Lakes zones and also coached at two Youth Challenge Nationals, winning gold in 1999.

Through the local association for the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers Association, Dave met a second mentor, namely Jackie Hawkins, a volunteer from Lindsay who was also involved at the provincial level.

Through Jackie, Dave became involved locally and, in 1992, was named President of the decentralized Kawartha and District Association before becoming President of the Great Pine Ridge Association and, in 2000, the first president of the newly formed Kawartha Lakes Zone Association.

This leadership, in turn, brought Dave to the provincial and eventually the national level through a third and final mentor (so far), Hall of Famer Jennifer Guay of Whitby. Jennifer was president of the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers Association, and as such, on the Canadian board as well and, she too, saw Daves leadership ability. In 1997, Jennifer invited Dave onto the provincial board and he has served in a variety of leadership roles, including Membership, Human Resources, Planning, Audit and his real love, Coaching.

Through this portfolio, Dave has been Technical Director provincially as well as Coaching Coordinator and head of the annual provincial bowling school, a project he has been with since its inception in 1991.

In 2004, Dave followed Jennifer Guay as President of the Ontario 5 Pin Bowlers Association. He immediately rewrote the Assistant Coach policy and also outlined the responsibilities for the coaches of our youth bowlers.

As president provincially, Dave represented Ontario nationally and was quickly elected second vice president and designated to rescue a struggling technical program. His success is well noted as a new Community Coach Initiation Program has been written and individuals have been trained to begin the delivery of this effort.

Dave is currently in the process of retiring from General Electric where, after forty years, he is in charge of production control for large motors and generators that serve Canadian industry. He plans to stay involved in bowling, both provincially and nationally, and deliver a few clinics and participate in a re-writing of the rule book.

As well, after getting a new knee, Dave and his wife, Judy, hope to travel to Europe. In addition, both children have followed in their fathers footsteps as son Trevor is assistant tournament director for Kawartha Lakes and daughter Michelle is working with fundraising. In addition, Trevor and his wife Kristal have two children Melissa, seven, and Rebecca, six, and these grandchildren are the start of a new generation, waiting to be mentored and ready to follow in the footsteps of two previous generations.