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The 9th annual JDRF Fund Raising Spiel was held on January 10th and 11th and, as in previous years, was a rousing success. This year saw twenty teams compete in two divisions, experienced curlers and non-experienced curlers. After some great curling and well fought games, Ethan Kent and his rink prevailed in the curlers division while Landry’s Vacuum, skipped by Schooner’s very own Wayne “Bull” Bonnell, took top honors among the non-curlers. Skip Kent was joined in victory by mate Tom Drover, second, Amy MacPherson and lead Matt MacPherson. Skip Bonnell was aided by the stellar play of mate, Jolene MacLellan, second, Eric Boutilier and lead Belinda Beaton. Of course, when all is said and done, the real winner of this event is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation who gets much needed funds to help all the young people whose lives are affected by the disease and to help in the effort to find a cure and to wipe out Juvenile Diabetes all together. Along with the $100 per team entrance fee, money is raised through a silent auction, even splits and other donations. This year, another $3800 plus was raised to fund the effort which brings the total raised over the nine years of the spiel to over $30,000. This spiel would not be possible if not for the efforts of Lena and Lynnette Chiasson and their family who have been organizing and running this spiel since its inception. They put in countless hours of work organizing the spiel, getting sponsorships and prizes and running the event all weekend. The spiel organizers recognize the importance of all the local business, corporations and individuals who contribute food, money, prizes auction items and entrance fees that help make the spiel such a success and would like to thank all of those business and individuals whole heartedly. See below for a list of major sponsors and supporters. And, of course, the spiel would not be complete without Lena’s grandfather, Frank Kokocki, making a huge pot of the most delicious soup around for all the curlers and guests to enjoy. Also, a big thank you goes out to the Schooner Curling Club and the ice crew for providing the venue and some great curling ice and its membership for helping out and for taking part in the spiel and all its other events. Also, a huge thank you to all other volunteers who give their time to make this spiel such a success. This year, the JDRF came to a bitter sweet close when it was announced that Lena, her mom Lynnette and the rest of the family who work so tirelessly to organize and run the JDRF fundraiser won’t be doing it next year. After nine years and thousands of dollars raised it’s time to move on to other projects. On behalf of the Schooner Curling Club and its members we send out a huge thank you to everyone who worked so hard over the years to run the spiel and provide us all with a great weekend every year filled with fun, good food and good curling. This event will surely be missed on our yearly schedule.
The organizers of the JDRF Fund Raising Spiel would like to thank all volunteers and sponsors of the event including but limited to the following:
- Schooner Curling Club and members
- Schooner Ice Crew
-Billy Farr and Compu Clone Computer Solutions
- Mickey and Frank Kokocki
- Laura and Scott Rafuse
- Jason, Charlene and Abbé Kokocki
-G Landry Vacuum
-Lawtons
-Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto (Trialnet)
-Animas
-Medtronic
-Indianapolis Colts
-Ganz
-Cape Breton Beverages
- Subway, Charlotte St.
-Belly Busters Pizza, Membertou
The organizers of the JDRF Fund Raising Spiel would like to thank all volunteers and sponsors of the event including but limited to the following:
- Schooner Curling Club and members
- Schooner Ice Crew
-Billy Farr and Compu Clone Computer Solutions
- Mickey and Frank Kokocki
- Laura and Scott Rafuse
- Jason, Charlene and Abbé Kokocki
-G Landry Vacuum
-Lawtons
-Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto (Trialnet)
-Animas
-Medtronic
-Indianapolis Colts
-Ganz
-Cape Breton Beverages
- Subway, Charlotte St.
-Belly Busters Pizza, Membertou