The Barrhead Curling Club was announced the winner of the 2014 Kraft Celebration Tour, news that rocked the community Monday, Aug. 25.
The victory means the curling club will be awarded the contest’s grand prize of $75,000 in addition to the $25,000 they received during the KCT event on August 18.
Many gathered at the Barrhead Golf Club to wait for the news, which was announced on the 4 p.m. TSN show.
The moment Barrhead was named the winning community, the crowd of anxious residents erupted in deafening cheers.
Patty Storseth-Wierenga, who nominated the curling club, was among those giving hugs and high-fives in the crowd. After receiving a congratulatory phone call from TSN SportsCentre anchor Kate Beirness, Storseth-Wierenga commended everyone who was involved in bringing success to Barrhead.
“I had a great team. I had several great partners by my side,” she said, adding Jenny Bruns was as much of a part of organizing as she was. “The Barrhead Curling executives, the volunteers, the community, TSN, Kraft, Mosaic, everybody made this happen.”
Storseth-Wierenga said every time she was out in the community, the residents, businesses and organizations all showed excitement and enthusiasm towards the KCT campaign.
“We’ve seen it rurally, we’ve seen it through the Town of Barrhead, everybody rolled out the red carpet. I didn’t even have to ask and people were offering,” she said. “It made my heart smile being a part of this community, so thank you.”
Moments after TSN’s announcement, Town of Barrhead Mayor Gerry St. Pierre expressed how proud he was of every person who was involved.
“It’s a wonderful announcement for the community,” he said. “It proves that if we set our mind to doing something, we can accomplish anything. I am so, so proud of each and every one of you and the community as a whole. “
Although he was just as ecstatic as everyone else, St. Pierre said part of him wasn’t surprised Barrhead claimed the win.
“I didn’t have any reason to know in advance, but I was quite comfortable that we had a really good shot at it,” he said.
Still smiling after hearing the news himself, County of Barrhead Reeve Bill Lee said winning the KCT is a historic moment in Barrhead’s history.
“I jumped up and screamed and there were tears in my eyes,” said Lee. “We were one in the province to get the $25,000, we’re one in Canada to get it all. Isn’t that something? All of Canada, we’re number one. I am so proud.”
Lee added this was the work of the community, and an accomplishment that had no government involvement. That says a lot about the community of Barrhead, he said.
“It just shows when you put your mind to something and get together, many hands make light work,” he said. “This is what happened. Everybody did what they could to make this happen, and look at what came of it.”
Barrhead Curling Club president Brian MacGillvray said he was “totally shocked” when Barrhead was announced the winner. As someone who was heavily involved with the events that followed the nomination, MacGillvray said it was a rewarding experience to watch the community come together.”
“It’s a learning experience to work with a Canadian-wide project, and it was worth it. It was amazing to see that we could do it and put it together,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of work to keep the club going, and it will survive for a long time because of this.”
MacGillvray said the club is in great need of a new ice plant, which costs around $130,000. The money from the KCT will give the club a good shot at having a state of the art ice plant, he said.
Additionally, the curling club has been struggling with utility costs.
“Like every other rural town, [the club] is suffering with the high cost of utilities,” he said. “Our utilities are killing us, so hopefully we can streamline some of our cost and keep it going.”
Bruns, who heard the announcement at her home, said she hopes this isn’t the end for the community spirit that has been shown over the past several weeks.
“Everybody took full ownership and just went nuts with it, continuing on right until the last second when we found out. It showed they were proud of their town, no matter who’s getting the money,” said Bruns. “We hope they hold on to their community spirit as they move forward. As a community, look what we can do when we all get together.”
“For me it really opened my heart to what a grand community we live in. I’ve had that experience before. It was through tough times, and the community wrapped their arms around me. They’ve done it again in joyous times,” added Storseth-Wierenga. “I’m very proud to say Barrhead is my community.”
