Christmas Shopping and Beyond - Remember Your Club Sponsors!

The importance of Advertisers and Sponsors, and doing your part as a member to support them.

When was the last time you visited one of the club's many sponsors, purchased a product or service, and said "I am here because you sponsor our club. Thank you, I'll be back."?

If it has been a while, then I suggest you consider including some of our sponsors' businesses on your next shopping trip - last minute Christmas shopping and beyond! Somewhere on the ice shed wall, on the scoreboards at the end of the sheets, or in the house targets on the ice where our major sponsors are displayed, you should be able to find the name of a business that offers a good or service you are in need of. Visiting their store, pricing your desired good or service, and making it known that you are a member of the Parksville Curling Club would go a long way towards keeping them in our building and on our wall. I am sure they would be more satisfied if you made a purchase, but I'll leave that up to you and the salesperson to work out :o) What I am really interested in, is letting the businesses who support PCC know that we recognize and appreciate that support; that we make an effort to support those who support us!

Amongst the numerous wall ads and 5 major, ice sheet sponsors, who together provide the club with essential operating funds, you will find a wide selection of goods and services available to you and your family. Restaurants, retail stores, auto dealers, insurance and real estate agents, financial advisors, barbers, plumbing and electrical contractors - what ever your need, chances are there is an option for you.

So, you are on board and want to help the club retain and expand their advertiser list ... next question you may have is, "Who is supporting PCC?"

Starting in January, each week I will list several advertisers who have renewed their association with the PCC for the upcoming year. My hope is that you will consider them when conducting your personal and/or business shopping, and, most importantly, take the time to notify someone in the store that you are a member of PCC and have seen their ad at the club.

Remember, your feedback to any of these individuals or organizations may help them decide where to continue investing part of their, what I am sure must be a shrinking, advertising budget.

*** Potential Advertisers please note: we have room for your company.  If interested, please contact the club for more details***

Twas the Night Before Brier - a Denis Faubert adaptation

 

Twas the Night before Brier

originally adapted by RKCC curler Denis Faubert
(thanks, Denis, for allowing me to republish it here on the coast!)

Twas the night before Brier, & all through the club,

Not a curler was curling, not one in the pub!

The banners were hung on the wall with great care,

In hopes that all teams soon would be there.

 

While Nancy checked entries, & sipped on her tea,

Timmy the Iceman, was scraping sheet three.

 

The ice, how it sparkled!,  the stones how they gleamed!

Eagerly waiting the morning draw’s team.

 

The curlers were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of trophies soon danced in their heads.

 

The rocks were aligned  in a row four by four,

Looking for patrons, to come through the door.

 

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,

Gave way  to the lustre of sunrise below

 

The dawn’s early light had arrived by and by,

Along with eight curlers with brooms held on high.

 

And Terry with his stick, Vern with his hat,

Were just settling in, sliding out of the hack.

 

Then all of a sudden, there arose such a clatter,

We looked up to see, just what was the matter.

 

When what to our wondering ears should we hear,

But our skip saying loudly,  “I want the rock here!”

  

“Now please brush it harder, much harder,”  said he

To the top of the four foot, and freeze it “thusly”.

 

So, lively and quickly the brushers did sweep,

That the skip yelled and shouted “don’t bring it too deep!”

 

Then, in a heartbeat, the granite rock stopped,

Relieved of this burden, my blood pressure dropped

 

The skip jumped six feet, to his team gave a whistle,

Shook hands with his front end, who helped just a little.

 

As briers before, both teams strove to score,

And soon it was clear that the end was quite near.

 

As often does happen, it came to last rocks,

Our skip, Ron, for good measure had worn red socks.

 

All eyes were upon him, not a sound in the house,

Not even a squeak from the club’s only mouse.

 

And then, in a twinkling, the time did draw nigh

The skip set the broom and let out a sigh.

 

In prayerful repose, pulled the rock with a jerk,

Cleaned off the bottom and went straight to work

.

With a wink of his eye, and a nod of his head,

Soon gave us to know we had nothing to dread.

 

He drew back the rock, then sprang from the hack,

The stone almost flying, we were taken aback!

 

It was said as it passed, one could hear pebble sizzle,

Like the sound that one hears, of bacon on the griddle.

 

The rock reached it’s target, with terrifying might,

A quadruple takeout, a spectacular sight!

 

The game had been won, our opponents undone,

We all gave a cheer, and then drank some beer.

 

As we left one by one, I looked up to the sky

And just for an instant, saw something streak by.

 

It was said of that night, as I gazed on that sight

T’was no more than a shimmering, flickering light

 

I beseech each of you, to consider this true,

In that fraction of time, I had seen the sublime

 

A right jolly old elf, so full of good cheer,

And a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer.

 

As he flew threw the air with nary a care,

I heard him exclaim, with grandiose flair

 

Happy Brier to All, and to All a Good Night!

Office Hours through the week at PCC

Hey, Graham ... when are you in the office?

For a regular work week, my office hours are:

Monday to Friday  8:30am - noon

During this time, I will be in the building to handle any and all member/guest inquiries, facility issues or emergencies.

Outside of these hours, I am available by email anytime ... please forward any thoughts or questions to me - manager@parksvillecurling.com.

As the Christmas break approaches, I believe it is a good time to outline a couple of the initiatives I hope to implement early in the new year, each intended to improve and enhance member service:

• provide a select offering of onsite proshop equipment to purchase (e.g. grippers, broom heads, delivery sticks, head gear), with the option to order a number of specialty items (e.g. brooms, clothing).  With this initiative you will be able to outfit your game while supporting the club - win/win! 
• investigate the feasibility of member classifieds online - one central location, for members only, to buy/sell used gear and other miscellaneous items (Board approval and website administrator feedback pending)

With these enhancements, along with others in the works, I hope to make your experience more enjoyable and rewarding.

Remember, please feel free to forward any suggestions you may have regarding enhancing member service or suggested improvements for the club. It is best to submit them in writing - either by emailing at the address above, or by dropping a note in the Registration Fee/Suggestion Box.

Good Curling and Merry Christmas!!

Introducing the Parksville Curling Club Manager's Blog

Christine and Graham Weatherby - west coast bound

Thank you, to everyone, for the wonderfully, friendly welcome I have received joining your Oceanside family! My wife, Christine, and I, are very happy to be a part of this exciting community and look forward to the opportunity of contributing when and where we can. Our holistic skin and body care company, Purple Essentials, will be opening soon in Qualicum Beach (shameless plug - 663 Beach Road - Unit 101 - purple-essentials.com) and we invite you all to drop by for a visit.

For those reading this who I have not yet met, I offer a brief bio. In 1990, as a student at Queen's University in Kingston, ON, I began working in the curling industry as a bartender at the Royal Kingston Curling Club - the second oldest curling club in Canada. My career at Royal Kingston spanned 26 years, the last 12 as General Manager. I will forever cherish the time I spent at this great club ... the joy - the laughter - the camaraderie - the challenges ... a lifetime of stories summed up in a few simple sentences doesn't due it justice, but I would need a book's worth of pages to accomplish that!  To my Royal Kingston family - be well.
  
In my new role as part-time Manager of the Parksville Curling Club, the facet of my job that has given me the most pleasure thus far, is definitely my daily interaction with club members. Whether it is chatting about ice conditions, discussing curling equipment, debating strategy or complaining about the unseasonable weather (which I have been accused of bringing west from Ontario - sorry), the time I get to spend talking face to face with members is the most rewarding. Unfortunately, my daytime office hours at the club do not provide me the same opportunity to interact with those members curling in evening leagues. So, in an effort to communicate more effectively with all members, I offer this blog as a tool for maintaining an open line to the office.

Here I will, among other things, attempt to:

• highlight and summarize ongoing club activities
• identify and discuss club services - what works ~ what needs improvement ~ what can be added
• discuss many other curling related issues as they present themselves throughout the year, including Q&A from members

I invite you to contact me with any questions or suggestions you may have about the member experience at the Parksville Curling Club - either by email or by way of the suggestion box/registration fees box in the main lobby. I am dedicated to putting my experience to work enhancing your time at the club.

That's it for now - thanks for taking a read.  Good Curling! 

Graham