Corvette Hall of Famer Ron Fellows to Receive the Order of Canada

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Corvette Hall of Famer Ron Fellows to Receive the Order of Canada


Corvette Hall of Famer Ron Fellows has been featured many times on this website for his contributions to the Corvette world.

Fellows, of course, has been honored many times for his impressive driving skills, including a 2011 induction into the National Corvette Museum Hall of Fame and a 2013 induction into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.

But we like to think he’s more than just a great driver.

Witness our story from Christmas 2015 when we featured a kind deed by Fellows at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. He took a 48-year-old ALS patient and Corvette enthusiast named Scott McKenzie on some high-speed laps around the track in a yellow Corvette Z06.

Now comes word this week that the Canada native will soon be receiving one of his homeland’s highest honors – an appointment to the prestigious Order of Canada.

Presented by the governor general, the Order honors people “whose service shapes our society, whose innovations ignite our imaginations, and whose compassion unites our communities,” according to a press release from the Canadian government.

Fellows will join 119 other men and women appointed to the Order of Canada, according to Governor General Julie Payette. The new members literally range from A (Pita Aatami, for his contributions to the economic, social, and political development of Nunavik) to Z (Lynn Margaret Zimmer, for her contributions to protecting victims of violence and for her advocacy of women’s rights.)

Created in 1967, the Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honors, Payette said.

Over the past 50-plus years, nearly 7,500 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order of Canada.

“Their contributions are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and have taken to heart the motto of the Order: DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM (“They desire a better country”),” Payette said. “The striking, six-point white enamel insignia they wear symbolizes our northern heritage and our diversity, because no two snowflakes are alike.”

Appointments are made by the governor general on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada.

Fellows, of course, has long been respected by Corvette enthusiasts for his outstanding performance as a member of the Corvette Racing Team from 1998 to 2007. He won 27 races and three ALMS championships, took two wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and also earned “Most Popular Driver” awards from ALMS fans for an unprecedented four straight times.

In fact, he is so beloved by Chevy that he was honored with the production of the Ron Fellows American Le Mans Series GT1 Champion Z06 in 2007, the first autographed factory special-edition in Corvette history. Fellows helped test and develop the first Corvette C5.R racer, and this limited-production Z06 (Arctic White with Monterey Red hash stripes, with black and red interior) was an homage to his six consecutive American Le Mans Series championships from 2001-2006. Only 399 Ron Fellows Edition Corvettes were produced with 300 reserved for the U.S., 33 for Canada and 66 designated for export.


Source:
gg.ca

Related:
[VIDEO] Ron Fellows and 20 Corvette ZR1’s Road Trip from Detroit to Spring Mountain
[VIDEO] Ron Fellows Takes a Hot Lap at Spring Mountain in the 2019 Corvette ZR1
[VIDEO] Learn to Drive Corvettes at the Ron Fellows Performance Driving School

 



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