Casey Scheidegger in the Curling with Rock Stars event.
Fort Macleod Curling Club celebrated the strong community that has been a hallmark of the organization over the past 125 years.
The club held its 125th anniversary celebration with displays of history, curling with top Alberta skips and a banquet.
“I just wanted to offer my congratulations on such a wonderful milestone achievement of reaching 125 years of curling,” Curling Alberta president Jody Meli said. “What an accomplishment for all of you.”
“It’s something to truly celebrate.”
Guests at the banquet included Shannon Kleibrink, a five-time Scotties provincial champion and local legend Jamie Bourassa, the 1989 provincial mixed curling champion who went on to become the ice technician for Curling Canada and the World Curling Federation.
Mayor Brent Feyter brought greetings on behalf of the Town of Fort Macleod.
“One hundred and 25 years,” Feyter said. “That is no small thing.”
Feyter noted that Fort Macleod was among the first communities in Alberta to start a curling club.
The mayor congratulated the club on its place in history and for its longevity in reaching the 125th anniversary.
“One thing I’ve been noticing is curling is all about fellowship and getting to know each other and hanging out together and that’s a pretty amazing thing,” Feyter said. “That’s what makes community. We wish you many more years.”
Meli was also representing the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, having spent 10 years on the board.
“I have to tell you it’s probably one of the best decisions I ever made in terms of volunteering and knowing what a worthwhile cause,” Meli said. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into but it’s something I am very proud to be involved with.”
Sandra Schmirler was a provincial, national, world champion and Olympic gold medal curler. Schmirler and teammates Jan Betker, Jon McClusker and Marcia Guderelt won the hearts of Canadians.
“Part of their charm, and what I think everybody loved about them, was they were down-to-earth and fun-loving,” Meli said. “And they were just Saskatchewan girls, but they were fierce competitors.”
Schmirler died of cancer in 2000 at the age of 36, leaving her husband and two young daughters.
Upon her death, Schmirler’s friends got together and formed the foundation to preserve her legacy.
“It was important to the founders that it was a cause that connected to Sandra,” Meli said. “And what that was, was family.”
Many families face the challenge of having a baby born too soon, too small or too sick.
The foundation raises money to buy needed life-saving equipment for neo natal intensive care units across Canada.
To date, the foundation has donated equipment with a value in excess of $7.9-million across Canada.
The foundation always donates where the Scotties Tournament of Hearts is held. Alberta will receive another donation in February when the tournament is held in Calgary.
Lethbridge has received $135,000 in grants. A total of $187,000 was granted in Alberta in 2022.
The foundation also supports youth curling in the form of $5,000 scholarships each year to six people.
“What makes the Sandra Schmirler Foundation so unique?” Meli said. “It’s one of the few foundations that is focused on neo natal intensive care units across the country. But I believe the power really, truly is the curling community and the power of connections that we all have as curlers.”
The Schmirler family, including her daughters and husband, is actively involved with the foundation.
“In the words of Sandra herself, dream big, fight hard,” Meli said. “The Sandra Schmirler Foundation embodies those words.”
The Fort Macleod Curling Club donated the $1,800 proceeds from Curling with Rock Stars to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.
On Friday and Saturday the club’s history assembled by Judy Walde and Cathy Park was on display in the club.
At the banquet, a video of interviews with long-time club members was shown.
“The committee has done a tremendous amount of research into the decades of the curling club,” master of ceremonies Cecilie Fleming said.
Club president Sherri Zoeteman and historian Cathy Park presented a scrapbook to long-time member and former draw master Harvey Bourassa.
“We are all here because we are part of a community but there was one individual who really grasps what our club is all about,” Zoeteman said. “He is a life member and he was an ambassador for us at so many bonspiels.”
On Friday, the Town of Fort Macleod and Westco Construction played a corporate challenge on inflatable rinks provided by Curling Alberta.
Earlier in the day, Shannon Kleibrink and Casey Scheidegger skipped local curlers in the Curling with Rock Stars event.
