John Weekes the first Sun Valley Sun to be inducted into the Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame was an originator of the Suns and known as one of the godfathers of the Sun Valley Suns. He was a player, coach and general manager. According to former Suns coach and current general manager John “Cub” Burke who inducted Weekes, he is one of two figures that would be on the Mount Rushmore of Sun Valley Suns hockey. The other was George Gund III, a long time patron and de facto “owner” of the team who financed the team’s first rink in the mid-70’s. Weekes was a homegrown native of Ketchum and held true importance in the success of the local hockey club.
“The success and longevity of the Suns doesn’t happen without John Weekes, Hockey is the reason why we came to Sun Valley, but John Weekes is why we stayed” Weekes went on to describe the first years of the Sun Valley Suns dating back to 1975. “They were a ragtag bunch of guys and the team just happened,” Weekes said. “Guys came from all over the country. Some stayed and some left, but some are still here and made a complete life for themselves in the Valley. It ws the right place at the right time. We were just a bunch of guys having fun.”