12 NEEPAWA BANNER & PRESS APRIL 15, 2022
A night of celebration for Neepawa at Sports Dinner Continued from Page 1 Ken Pearson, head coach and general manager for the Neepawa Titans, echoed the sentiment provided by Denbow, sharing that it was a great night, very well attended, with great messages from the keynote speakers. Almost all the Titans players were able to travel back to town to be there for the evening, as well. “It was a night for them to be there as part of the community,” Pearson stated. “But also, it was a night to celebrate the season we had.” The attendance was similar to in past years, if not slightly higher. Over 200 people came out for the dinner. Ward Szucki, member of the On-Side committee, added that there were some regulars who weren’t able to attend, because the date was decided upon on short notice, but they still had a great turnout. Speakers had great message There were three featured guest speakers at the dinner. Winnipeg Blue Bombers linebacker Shayne Gauthier, member of the female hockey Olympic team Kristen Campbell and comedian Big Daddy Tazz all spoke to the dinner attendees. Pearson expressed that their presentations all had an important message in common. “They all said it differently, but in the end, it was all the same message,” he shared. The speakers talked about the importance of hard work, following your dreams and not letting anything get in the way of your goals, which
really resonated with Pearson and were great lessons for the young athletes in attendance. Another notable part of the evening was the naming of the Neepawa Sportsperson of the Year. For 2022, Landon Cameron was recognized with the honour. (A full article on the award can be seen on Page 13 of the Banner & Press) Auction brings in cash Part of the night’s fundraising endeavours included the auction. Denbow noted that it was a bit smaller than usual, as they only had six items up for sale. However, all the items were either donated or mostly sponsored, so almost all the money earned in the sale was net profit. In total, the six items brought in just over $3,000. The Neepawa Titans annually choose a non-profit organization to receive a portion of the profits from the evening, as well. This year, Denbow noted that they chose the Neepawa Area Collegiate Tigers football team. Members of the team helped out at the dinner, with setting up, cleaning up and taking down tables at the end of the night. Denbow noted that they wanted to get the team out to the event to be able to see the Grey Cup and meet Bomber Shayne Gauthier. The Titans decided to donate $750 to the Tigers, which will help with team expenses, such as equipment and travel costs. The official numbers for how much the event raised overall was not available before the Banner & Press deadline.
PHOTOS BY DIANE WARNER
The return of the Sports Dinner was very well received, with co-featured guest speaker Kristen Campbell, along with Shayne Gauthier of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (not pictured), sharing stories. As well, comedian Big Daddy Tazz (Above left) entertained the crowd. (Above right) The dinner was catered by the chefs for HyLife Foods. To go along with these festivities, the player awards for the Neepawa Titans were also handed out. Those pictures will appear in the next issue of the Banner & Press.
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