Inducted February 2021 Nominated by Murray Pearson
Dave joined HCC’s Tuesday men’s league in 1986, Nancy joined in 1997, starting in the Friday night league. As they warmed to the game and the club, they made friends and willingly took on volunteer duties and demonstrated leadership well beyond what is typically required of members. Both have provided significant volunteer time and leadership through several years of service on the Board of Directors, as Friday night league convenors for 17 years and as committee chairpersons and members for bonspiels, fund raising and other social events.
Leadership highlights
Their involvement and leadership have contributed significantly to making HCC a well-organized and friendly club. As a two-year President (and 2 as Past President), Dave led the Board through challenging times. With growing demand for ice time, the Board had to develop youth, evening and daytime curling programs that best reflected a shifting demographic. For example, he had to convince members of the Wednesday evening Lady’s Night to shift to an open draw to maximize use of the ice; a difficult move, managed well by Dave as he addressed concerns and built consensus for the draw that ultimately developed into the popular Wednesday night Mixed draw. Dave inherited strained relations with the Carp Fair Board that required his intervention. The respect he has earned and the influence he has with the farm community enabled him to rebuild this important partnership. Amalgamation of West Carleton with Ottawa, while not problematic, left an ongoing issue with taxation. Working in committee, Dave helped present options to the Board to resolve the complicated taxation issue to the club’s benefit, ultimately resulting in an arrangement with the City that saved the club money that could be used for capital improvement projects. Later, the Board asked him to serve on the Ice Technician Selection Committee that selected Dwayne, who has been a welcome addition to HCC’s ice team.
Dave and Nancy are long-time managers of our important Friday night entry league. Their personable approach to managing the draw has helped many new members learn the game and eventually “graduate” to other leagues. They make everyone feel welcomed and “at home” by building on the tradition of “munchie nights”, fun curling and instituting a Hallowe’en Costume Party night. Most ‘rookies’ who learned the game Friday nights are still with us, and all have kind words for the way Dave and Nancy introduced them to the game.
They have both been mainstays in support of the club’s Carp Fair and other fund-raising activities that have contributed significantly to HCC’s financial wellbeing. Over the years they have led by example using their considerable leadership and influence to help build the club we enjoy today.
Summary of contributions:
Both served several years on the Board of Directors. Dave joined the Board in 1998, serving for 5 years, 2 years as Bar Director and 3 years as President and Past President. Nancy was on the Board for 3 years, serving as Secretary.
They have been and still are convenors of the Friday Social Curling league (expanding it to include Saturday nights for a couple of years), 17 years total.
From 1998 to last year, they both served as volunteers for duties during Carp Fair weekend in a variety of ways. When the BBQ tent started in 2004, Dave helped organize the acquisition, erection and dismantling of the tent. They both served as BBQ tent participants for a few years, taking over the coordinator role which involved estimating food requirements, sourcing products, buying them and lastly, managing the set up of volunteer staff for over 5 years. Nancy worked the early Fair breakfast and lunch crews for 5 years. Finally, they took turns working the HCC booth where they had the chance to talk to Fair attendees to stoke local interest in the HCC curling program.
Clans Spiel: they volunteered time to help with the event for a couple of years then organized it, including organizing lunch and an “in Club” cooked dinner for 4 years.
Pakenham Challenge: They organized this inter-club challenge for 4 years, bringing together members of the two clubs in a fun but competitive evening of curling and socializing. The Pink Pig was a coveted prize!
Closing Bonspiel: They helped with organizing this event, then assumed the organizer’s role for a couple of years.
Ice Team: Dave helps prepare the ice for the Friday Night Social league. He has helped prepare ice for special events like the Carp Classic and in the fall, during ice installation. He served on the Ice Technician Selection Committee that wisely hired our current technician.
Bar duty: Dave managed the bar as Bar Director for a couple of years, and both he and Nancy took many shifts behind the bar before paid bartenders were instituted. Both are Smart Serve qualified.
Kitchen duty: In addition to food service contributions at Carp Fair, Nancy worked on food service for several spiels, including the Caledonia Cup. Both have helped with the Oyster Night each year.
Other: Nancy designed the present layout of the Ladies Change Room, including the paint colour, mats, and cloth screen. Dave arranged for the loan of the tractor and wagon for the Santa Claus Parade and drove the tractor.