Members of the Huntsville Curling Club were given an update at their annual meeting Wednesday night of plans for the new multi-purpose Curling Club, scheduled for 2022 at McCulley-Robertson Recreation Park.
Close to 100 members were on hand for the dinner and meeting. They were also updated on plans to grow the Club to make the new facility viable.
Mark Inglis, from York Urbanist, hired to put together the plan for the Club said, “You have an exciting outlook.”
He told the audience it is important that the Club work with a 10-year budget, establish working relationships with the other partners in the project, build capital with the partners and build a capital fund. He reassured the members that there is money available in grants to get them where they need to be.
The facility is estimated to cost $6.5 million, including a multi-purpose gymnasium.
Ted Bionda, who is expected to become the next president of the Club, said, “If we work his plan, I think we can move forward.”
Eleven directors were acclaimed for the coming season including Bionda and outgoing president John Furner. They will meet July 10 to vote on the key positions. The other directors are Ruth Biggs, Lou Delassandro, Bob Gibb, Scott Goodhew, Beth Goodhew, Ron Kreutzer, Dave Rigby, Dennis Rolland and Sarah Jane Simpson.
Key to the future success of the club is growth in the membership.
Beth Goodhew announced they have been awarded a $62,000 grant over the next two years from the Ontario Sports and Recreation Community Fund to make that happen. This would enable the Club to hire a full-time co-ordinator.
“It will give us a chance to strengthen our Club by providing training, including coaching and volunteer development, build capacity for activity for our youth in the community, and will help remove barriers to participation such as physical capabilities or financial constraints,” she said. “We are looking ahead to build for the future with our youth development, grow the base with new members and focus on better retention of our existing membership.”
The goal, she told the meeting, is to go from the current 219 members to 403 by 2021-22, in time for the opening of the new facility.
Ron Kreutzer, chair of the membership committee, announced they planned to keep their increase in dues to three per cent for the coming year and have plans for a more attractive pricing policy for new members. He said more needs to be done to encourage men and women in the 20-35 age bracket to get involved in the sport.
The club’s highlight event this season will be the 2018 Ontario Tankard scheduled for January 30 to February 4.
Organizers said the event is expected to have an economic benefit to Huntsville of $1,000,000, based on provincial projections. The committee is also hopeful of raising $100,000 for the club.
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