Inducted April 2009 Nominated by: Murray Pearson
Stewart was in search of a curling facility that was easily accessible to where he lived. In the early stages of discussion regarding the possibility of a club, Stewart became an active supporter. Soon, he volunteered to be secretary to a couple of committees whose primary mandate was to get people interested and committed to the development of the club. Stewart holds the prestigious title of being the first member of the Huntley Curling club.
In his own words:
“When we began the conversation about a club in Carp, there was a friendly rivalry between South March versus Carp. Lucky for me, Carp won. I was always interested in seeing the club develop. I liked the social aspect of the club; it is the people who make a club.
“The great thing about the Huntley Curling Club is what we can do! In recent years, the club has become more than a curling rink. We host many weddings, parties, hip-of-beef nights, socials, and other events, meeting every specialized need.”
Stewart was an active curler in the men’s league. However, in 1999, Stewart became a member of the board and received the title ‘Kitchen Director’. The club’s signature meal became a hip-of-beef cooked in an old washing machine that Stewart had taken apart and redesigned. This ‘new oven’ was capable of cooking 110 pounds of beef at one time. Fundraising activities were always part of Stewart`s thinking and when people became interested in renting the space for weddings and parties, Stewart tells the story of a professional wedding planner becoming distressed about what he was going to do with the ‘black holes’, referring to the viewing windows. Stewart came to the rescue and designed and organized the production of window coverings that could be put up and taken down in minutes.
What others say about Stewart:
“Stewart wasn’t a competitive curler, but he enjoyed the camaraderie and the club social events. He and his friends would cook the meat for one of the events every year. Their oven was an old remodeled dishwasher. They served up a fantastic meal. At the end of the evening, they would wrap up the leftover beef and hand out packages of beef as door prizes. It was great.”
“With Stewart in charge…believe me, it will happen.”
Stewart is an inventor and enjoys creating solutions to household problems. Stewart can make your kitchen into a user-friendly dream…adding a few moving parts to cupboards…garbage bags can open, saran and foil can be separated, and flour can be at your fingertips.
Stewart’s advice? “Help everyone feel welcome, and want to return.”
Approved By:
Past President: Lock Trenholm
Past President: Lorne Rice
President: Cathy Shane