Welcome Back - Annual Member Report

Welcome back for another great year of curling at the Virden Curling Club. To start with, I would like to introduce you to the Current Board of Directors

Cory Barkley

Jay Kinnaird

Brad Hayward

Erin Barkley ***New President**

Tara Mooney

Tyler Strachan-Vice President

Chris Warkentin

Roxanne Freeman-Secretary

Danny Pierrard

Steve Warkentin –Past President

Pam Mcleod- Treasurer

If anyone is interested in joining our board of directors, please contact any one of the representatives above and we can give you any details or answer questions as needed. The Board of Directors meets monthly (unless emergencies arise) to discuss the operation and deal with any issues that may arise at the curling club. We work hard to maintain our facility as well as plan for the future. We operate independently of any other facilities and achieve financial stability through our membership fees, fundraising, bar and canteen sales.

We would also like to welcome back our staff and members who contribute to the operation of our facility throughout the year

Darla Hayward – Bar Manager

Thelma Quinn – Canteen Manager.

Geordy Barkley and Company – Ice Crew

Chelsy Macinnis – Office Manager Welcome to the Team!!

As a board, our primary goal is to make sure that all people have a place to curl now and in the future. We have 4 main areas that we focus on financially

Operating- we will always need money to operate, pay bills/staff and fix any unforeseen items that affect day to day operation.
Ice Plant- there are many components that make our ice plant work and we try to maintain that equipment and prevent failures during our peak operating season. Components usually have a life span and we replace in that fashion to avoid catastrophic failures. Unfortunately, these are often expensive repairs and planning for this eliminates financial strain.
Building Maintenance- we want to take care of our current facility as to the best of our knowledge we will be here for the foreseeable future. Making sure we have ice is priority one, but we also want to have a nice lobby and lounge to spend our time in. Upgrades and plans are always discussed, and we prioritize as best we can.
Legacy Fund - this money has been labelled as Phase II based on recent plans to join onto the arena. AS those plans seem to be put on hold, we still feel it is important to plan for the future and put some money away for a new facility wherever and whenever it may be.

Covid 19

Two years ago, we ended the season with a Covid 19 shut down which cancelled the annual Men’s Bonspiel. Last season we attempted to curl again but 4 weeks into the season, we were shut down and never did end up returning to the ice. This fall, we are looking to move forward and have a full curling season by working within the guidelines laid out for us by The Province and Curl Manitoba. Anyone coming into our building must be double vaccinated. Our hope is to be diligent in following the guidelines provided so we can have a full curling season in 2021/2022. Guidelines will be posted in the building, and we will monitor and adjust according to public health regulations.

We would also like to thank all those who donated their curling fees last season. This is much appreciated and a big part of why we are such a strong club now, and on a go forward basis.

Projects and Purchases Completed in 2021

Even though we did not curl this past year, we continually strive to improve our facility. We have been lucky enough to receive another government grant that allowed us to complete the following renovations.

Soffit and Facia

Bar/Lounge Ceiling & LED Lights Replacement

3)New Bar/Garbage/Display Cabinets. Stop by and check out the finished product!!

These were the larger projects but there have been many smaller jobs done to improve the Curling Club as well.

Planned projects for the future

When we received our grant money the past 2 summers, a government inspector was on site to walk through our planned renovations. He stated that we should be applying for grant money each winter as there was a good chance that we would receive funds if applied for. Below is a list of several ideas of planned upgrades that we have talked about.

Basement change room upgrade
New stairway to go down to the ice surface from the waiting room
Wheelchair ramp for the back door
Ceiling and wall upgrade on the ice surface area

We are always open to any ideas you may have and if you see something that you feel should be renovated, we can always discuss it and put it on our list if viable.

Each Board Member volunteers their time to help make decisions and maintain our organization. Please feel free to talk to anyone to discuss things you would like to see or possible changes we could make.

Thank you

The Virden Curling Club

Board of Directors