McLennan cash bonspiel fundraiser exceeds expectations

Kevin Laliberte
Express staff

Public popularity for the McLennan Curling Club’s second annual cash bonspiel fundraiser continued to spread like wildfire April 3 to 5 as a growing field just shy of two dozen teams took to the ice in support of a new community centre for the town.

“The response to our second annual cash bonspiel fundraiser was absolutely fantastic,” says a pleased and impressed Rita L’Heureux, president of the McLennan Curling Club. “We can’t thank the volunteers, business sponsors and curlers enough for their support throughout the weekend. It was a great to see.”

So too was the curling on the ice as 22 teams – up from last year’s total of 16 – from throughout the Peace Country converged at H.W. Fish Arena for the opportunity to walk away with cold, hard cash and bragging rights as curling kings and queens of this year’s exciting event.

Leading the charge to this year’s ‘A’ Event final for a second consecutive year was the Donald Dumont rink, a talented presence of four veteran curlers including third Willy St. Laurent, second Fern Doucet and lead Harry Notembomer.

Dumont’s team, which went undefeated this year with a squeaky clean record of 5-0, knocked off the competition one by one prior to meeting up again with last year’s defending ‘A’ Event champion Kelsey Dusseault for a rematch in the final.

But the result wasn’t quite as favourable for the Dusseault rink – 5-3 winners in 2008 – this time around as Dumont’s rink turned the tide with a hard earned 6-4 victory.

“I guess that means we’ll definitely see both teams back in 2010,” quipped L’Heureux during the awards presentation, hinting at the need for a tie-breaker next year between the two teams to determine the superior curling team.

The ‘B’ Event championship final, meanwhile, featured a much wider point differential on the scoreboard as skip Russell Collins and his fired up team (consisting of third Leon Giroux, second Cec Giroux and lead Kenny Blanchford) cruised to a lopsided 10-3 win over McLennan’s Bruce Brulotte rink.

And it was much the same in the ‘C’ Event where last year’s winner Linda L’Abbe of Peace River and her team (including third Roger L’Abbe, second Gilbert Gervais and lead Carole Stenhouse) broke free from an early 3-3 deadlock against McLennan’s Rita L’Heureux rink to win 8-3.

L’Heureux says this year’s cash bonspiel included a talented mix of advanced, intermediate and rookie curlers, all of whom joined forces by once again getting behind the town’s vision for a new community centre.

“We were really pleased with the overall number of curlers participating in the cash bonspiel fundraiser,” she points out, adding that many of them hadn’t picked up a broom in years.

Most of them weren’t out there to win. They just wanted to be part of the atmosphere and do whatever they could to show their support for this event and the community centre project.

Another hot topic of discussion among curlers throughout the weekend was the virtually impeccable ice conditions.

“The ice was absolutely fantastic once again this year,” says L’Heureux, tipping her hat to Barry Whelen and his crew of dedicated volunteers for a job well done.

Also contributing to the success of the cash bonspiel was an estimated 60 volunteers from within the community who rolled up their collective sleeves and pitched in by offering their assistance in various capacities.

That included everything from bartending at the Cabbage Patch lounge, to setup and cleanup of the Elks Hall before and after Saturday’s supper and dance, 50-50 sales and the “Between a Rock & a New Place” draw for some great grand prizes.

“It’s a win-win situation whenever you have that level of support that we received,” says L’Heureux, noting the event “was a community effort from start to finish.”

Winners, meanwhile, of the Between A Rock & A New Place Draws on Friday, Saturday and Sunday included: Lisa Millar (wall plaque), Lindsay Ravnek (outdoor storage chest), Alberta Gardiner (fire pit), Eric Farrell (rocking chair and foosball table), Darlene Payou (portable bed), Keith Bartram (compressor), Jim Island (pool) and Nancy McNeil (tent combo package).

The weekend’s 50-50 winners were Keith Bartram, Rita Regier and Nancy McNeil.

While the overall fundraising total from the McLennan Curling Club’s 2009 Cash Bonspiel Fundraiser is still unknown, organizers agree that all early indications point towards a much better result than 2008, the inaugural year of the event.

The McLennan Curling Club wishes to extend a reminder to all residents in the region to purchase their cash calendars for 2009. A total cash payout of $7,600 is available in the draws which commence on May 1.

Cash calendars can be purchased for $50 each and are available at the town office or by contacting any curling club member.

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