MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM -- The Moose Jaw Kinsmen Sports Celebrity Banquet has become well-known in the community as a major, major fundraiser for the local service organization, and it didn’t take long on Saturday night for things to get off to a great start.
As is tradition, the first order of fundraising business was the celebrity auction, which saw former Major League Baseball superstar reliever Eric Gagne, Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger, three-time Stanley Cup champion Duncan Keith and master of ceremonies Rod Black all auctioned off to sit at tables with event patrons during dinner.
About 15 minutes after the auction started, the Kinsmen had over $10,000 in their coffers for the night.
That was just a sign of things to come, as the 31st annual event once again brought in thousands upon thousands of dollars for the vast number of organizations the Kinsmen support every year.
“It was an awesome night,” said Sports Celebrity Banquet chair Travis Olson. “It was a lot of fun, there was a lot of energy in the room and we recognized some great recipients of our awards. Now we’re just looking forward to finding out how much we’ve raised for our community to continue the legacy of the Sports Banquet.”
The 2024 event saw a major change with a switch of venues to the Moose Jaw Exhibition Grounds Convention Centre, a move that brought more space and consequently, more room for patrons. All told, more than 500 people took in the event, the highest number since the Banquet began in 1993.
“We got a lot of positive feedback on the venue and what it looked like and how we had it done up,” Olson said. “I think we’ve learned some stuff that we might do differently next year, but that’s part of it and we’re just really happy with how it turned out. We were thrilled to have a crowd of over 500 people, we’re pretty proud of that.”
The evening saw three major awards presented, with Kinsmen Moose Jaw Minor Football president Bryan Boys winning the Kinsmen Sports Achievement Award, longtime Little League president and coach Tony Dreger receiving the Moose Jaw Express Sports Builder Award and the four-time provincial champion Central Cyclones boys basketball team receiving the Golden West Radio Team of the Year Award.
One of the major fundraising portions of the evening revolves around the live and silent auctions, and the Kinsmen certainly did well there.
A framed and signed Wayne Gretzky jersey brought in $5,500, while a pre-season trip to a Winnipeg Jets game cleared $3,900, with each of the live auction items bringing in well over $2,000 each.
A signed Pittsburgh Steelers Troy Polamalu helmet was one of the big silent auction items, clearing well over $1,000, as did a signed Don Cherry jacket and a golf package for courses all over Saskatchewan and Alberta.
As has become tradition, it’s expected around $100,000 will be raised when things are all said and done, offering another example of Moose Jaw’s continuing generosity.
“I’m really proud and honoured to live in a small community with such big hearts,” Olson said. “A lot of people came out and really supported us and represented Moose Jaw really well and I can’t thank the crowd enough for the generosity and the incredible support.”
