Colonel Chris Shapka of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Shapka is a graduate of Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School in 1997 and the school's latest inductee into the LTCHS Hall of Fame. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

Chris Shapka

Lindsay Thurber celebrates 30 years of Hall of Fame with new inductee

Nov 8, 2022 | 11:45 AM

Students and staff at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School took time on Monday to honour and celebrate their newest Hall of Fame inductee.

Colonel Chris Shapka, Director A4 Maintenance, 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters at 17 Wing Winnipeg, was this year’s inductee for the school’s Hall of Fame which is celebrating its 30^th year in 2022.

Shapka, a graduate of LTCHS in 1997 and the Hall’s 65^th inductee, completed an engineering degree at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, ON. Following graduation, he qualified as an Aerospace Engineering Officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Now based in Winnipeg, Shapka says his current role with the military means he’s in charge of aircraft maintenance for the entire Royal Canadian Air Force.

“It’s a headquarters position. I provide advice to all of the different Wings on the best practices for maintaining aircraft and engineering related to them. My job is focused on making sure that we’re flying all of our aircraft safely.”

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Shapka says it’s a great honour for him to be recognized in the LTCHS Hall of Fame.

“I had a great time when I was here. I had some great teachers, some great coaches, and there are people that I’ve stayed in touch with over the years, so it’s wonderful to be back.”

In addition to his military work, Shapka officiated over 100 CFL games, including two Grey Cups. Football and basketball were the main sports Shapka played during his time at Lindsay Thurber.

“When I left here, for sports, I played soccer at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, but football was really my passion,” he explained. “When I finished going to university, I started refereeing football and I worked my way up. I referee in the CFL now and I love it. I love being on the field, I love being a part of football and part of sport, especially at such a high level, so it really is amazing.”

Paul Gowans, Principal, Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School from 1990-1999, says they created the Hall of Fame to help redefine the school from others soon to be built in the city.

“Because of the history of Thurber, being very unique and a very proud history, there’s a lot of phenomenal graduates that had gone through the halls. I thought, well why don’t we develop a Hall of Fame? That gives not only the students some role modelling but it also gives you an idea of the students that went through and really achieved success, not only in Red Deer, but in Canada and the world.”

(rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

Shapka’s message to students is that the support they have at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School will continue well past graduation.

“I’ve kept in touch with a lot of people. A lot of people have continued to help me through the last 25 years and I think that’s an important message,” he explained. “I think maybe sometimes people think that when they graduate from high school, it’s over and they’re onto the next stage of their life. But it isn’t necessarily. You can really draw on that support network that you built while you were in Red Deer and while you were at Lindsay Thurber for years and years afterwards.”