WINDUP SPEECH – MARCH 14, 2026
Welcome everyone. Great meal.
The last rocks have been thrown, the winners decided & another great season of curling is in the books. This is the perfect time to recognize & thank the many people that got us this far.
For the first time since their successful nomination, I’m happy to recognize 9 of our Honorary Life Members as our guests here tonight. They all continue to curl & contribute to the success of our club. If you could please stand: John & Darlene Chapman, George Hagel, Cathy Pidduck, Dale Dodge, Pat Batchelor, Wanda Casorso, & John Surovy.
Remember to show our appreciation to our many sponsors.
- We are happy to have Ted and Lorraine Kane of Riverstone Winery here tonight as our guests. Thank you for your continued gold sponsorship and wonderful wines.
- Buy Low and Eastlink, gold sponsorship
- Edward Jones and Oliver Pharmacy, silver sponsorship
- Canadian Tire and Ecologic (Jason Jones) bronze sponsorship
- 35 in-ice & wall sign sponsors
When I accepted the role of president, the first big task was to find a new icemaker & cleaner. We were fortunate that Ed & Debbie Waugh accepted these positions & I want to thank them for jobs well done. It is our hope that they will return next season. Ed & Debbie were unable to attend tonight but Ed wanted to recognize those who volunteered many hours to assist with the ice: Mike Kelly, Bill Nokes, Gerry Johnson & Ernie Casorso. We are also fortunate to have Norm Card & Andrew Barnes who assists with the ice & in many other ways.
Thank you to the Board of Directors who worked hard to get us back on track financially. We tried some new things this year that I believe worked out really well. Thank you to all curlers who participated & supported our many new endeavors.
Special thanks to our retiring directors:
Arnie Janzen who served 3 years as our president & this last year as past president on the Board.
Brad Dufour & Rick Martin who served on the Board for the last 5 years & were instrumental in the completion of our addition.
John Surovy who has served as director for the last 2 years & our web master for longer. We (as well as John) are extremely happy to have Sandy Lederer assume management of the website.
Our AGM is set for Wednesday, May 27th when we will be looking to fill these director positions. We are working hard ahead of time to secure willing nominees, so please don’t let the fear of coercion to serve keep you away from the AGM.
Special thanks to those who willingly take on busy jobs to keep the place running and in the black:
Dale Dodge for managing our sponsorship program including securing sign sponsors as seen in the arena area.
Randy Grandish who has been our bar manager for the last 2 years & has consented to do it again. As we increase the number of events we host & the number of rentals, the challenge increases. Thank you Randy & your excellent crew of bartenders, as well as Shane Melnuk who has taken care of all the empty returns this season.
Cathy Pidduck remains dedicated to teaching new curlers through Learn-to-Curl sessions & school curling. Each January she organizes the popular Snowman Bonspiel. Thank you!
Linda Schroter, club photographer for documenting all our events.
Jean Lederer for her writing skills that continue to secure grant money every year.
Diane Cameron for her ongoing assistance with the website.
League Reps:
Our core business is league curling. Thank you so much to the following dedicated leaders:
Wanda Casorso & Cathy Thompson for organizing the day leagues, ladies league & organizing the interclub challenge & combined bonspiel.
Dave McCombe for organizing the corporate league for a number of years. I believe Arnie Janzen will be taking that job on next season.
Gail Barriskill for organizing the mixed league again this season & the 1-day mixed spiel in November.
Gary Stene for organizing the men’s league & the men’s side of the combined bonspiel.
John Surovy for organizing the Friday stick league for many years.
Bev Buffalo & Art & Jean Futa for organizing the Monday afternoon stick league. There is interest in expanding it to include Wednesday afternoons too.
Bryan Ellis, our junior league coach for your dedication every Tuesday & for running a successful 1-day bonspiel.
Bob & Barb Shanks & Marilyn Reimer for running the Special Olympic curling program every Wednesday.
I will have missed mentioning some of our volunteers who help out in so many ways. Know that you are all appreciated.
