The Morris Curling Club hosted a pickerel fish fry and corn hole tournament with silent auction alongside their annual general meeting last Saturday.
Board members, young families, and local business owners were among the 70 individuals that attended the event. Live music was provided by Heart n’ Funk, a local duo from Morris.
Following the fish and chip dinner, club president Steve Michaleski began the AGM by noting that in 2023 they hosted three international camps with athletes from Mexico, China, and Korea.
As well, over 300 youth from Morris, Lowe Farm, and Rosenort took part in the Junior Curling Program in the form of 64 lessons and “1,600 hours were taken away from screens and tablets,” Michaleski said.
“The club has strengthened our relationship with the Morris School,” he continued. “The future is in the Junior Program. To see success in the program tells an important story.”
The Dekalb Superspiel Curling Tournament in December brought in $60,000 for the club.
Mel Baxter, Dekalb-Club liaison, said the earnings are “a tribute to all volunteers that made it as successful as it was. We had excellent, Olympic-quality ice for the event, despite some worries.”
The Dekalb will run this year from Nov. 24 to Dec. 2.
Cheryl Demarke, board member, spoke to the $3,000 raised for the club in the second annual Funspiel held April 5-6.
“Our volunteers worked extremely hard and well together,” she said.
Financially, the curling club broke even in 2023, in part due to the hiring of a permanent full-time manager.
Michaleski also noted that “with a change in the board [members], there was a noticablel buzz in the community. We could see international interest and local support.”
A corn hole tournament, composed of 22 teams, closed out the evening, ending with Donovan Olukoya and Greg Seenie taking first place and Mitch Fehr and David Teichroeb claiming second. Both teams went home with Yeti mugs or tumblers donated by PhysiGO Morris.
