That’s pretty much what it comes down to for the Moose Jaw Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Banquet these days, and the 28th annual edition on Saturday night at the Heritage Inn was no exception.
A total of 477 patrons took part in the event for an opportunity to catch a few words of wisdom from the likes of Hockey Hall of Fame legend Eric Lindros, Toronto Blue Jays prospect Reese McGuire, Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Charleston Hughes and – for the fifth straight year – master of ceremonies Jamie Campbell from Sportsnet.
It’s all in support of the Moose Jaw Kinsmen and the stunning number of sports programs they support in the community.
“It’s hugely important for us, this is our 28th annual and for about the last 25 years it’s been our top-earning event. It’s really reached the next level,” said banquet chairman Daneil Stenko.
“We had a little bit of a shorter program this year, and I think it helped keep everyone’s attention on the stage, it was really focussed on the hot stove and Q and As, there were a lot of good questions asked. The guys we had this year had some pretty good answers, there were good responses from everyone.”
The celebrity banquet transferred to a hot stove question and answer format a few years ago, and the formula has become wildly popular as fans in the crowd are able to ask question of the athletes onstage.
“They were all very, very into it and passionate about their answers,” Stenko said. “Charleston, he was almost like a jokester and just up there having fun, Reece is just a young guy but he’s up there answering questions like he’s a veteran. And Lindros, yeah, he’s quite the character. He’s very passionate about Rowan’s Law and keeping kids safe while playing hockey at the same time.”
The event is expected to earn in the $50,000 to $70,000 range, once again thanks to the generous donations from the raft of high bidders who support the banquet year in and year out – many of whom decorate their business with their winnings from the show.
“All our items went at prices that made us money, the 50/50 was a success again… it’s all thanks to the community support, there are a lot of guys we lean on who show up every year and allow us to continue to do what we do,” Stenko said.
And then, of course, there was the crowd. Once again a packed hall, and once again a lot of funds raised from ticket sales alone.
“We even had people contacting us only hours before seeing if they could get one or two more tickets,” Stenko said. “So it’s awesome to see people really enjoy it that much that they’re scratching at the doors just to get one more ticket. The Heritage Inn was very accomodating, too, but they were like ‘okay guys, yeah, we just can’t do any more’.”
The banquet features a trio of annual award presentations as one of the highlights of the evening.
The Kinsmen Sports Achievement Award was presented to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor Jason Church, founder of Control Jiu Jitsu in Moose Jaw, for his bronze medal finish at the IBJJF World No Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship this past December.
Winning the Golden West Radio Sports Team Award were the 2019 Moose Jaw Little League All-Stars after their legendary run to the Canadian Little League championships this past summer.
The Moose Jaw Express / MooseJawToday.com Sports Builder Award was presented to Dave and Bill Pyle of Pyle’s Gym in honour of their decades of contributions to strength conditioning and endurance for athletes of all stripes in Moose Jaw.
