Sports Dinner raises $8,400

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Published on Tuesday, December 15, 2015

By Eoin Devereux

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The final numbers are in for the seventh annual Neepawa Sports Dinner. The event, held on Oct. 24 at the Yellowhead Hall, was able to generate a net profit of  $8,425.84.  That money has been divided between Neepawa’s Leisure Services Department and the Neepawa Natives junior “A” hockey club, who co-hosted the festivities. 

Around 260 people attended the dinner, which featured guest speaker, former NHLer and Hockey Hall of Famer Reggie Leach, as well as comedian and Don Cherry impersonator Clark Robertson. 

Leisure Services Department manager Amanda Novak said that the profits from this year’s dinner nearly doubled those of the 2014 event. She said the use of a hockey player such as Leach as the keynote speaker, was likely a major contributing factor for the night’s success.

“In previous years, it seems as though we always do well when we book hockey players. Hockey guys are a big draw and Reggie [Leach] was no exception. He was a real engaging speaker,” said Novak. 

Novak also commended the volunteers and players from the Neepawa Natives for all the time they put in before and during the Sports Dinner. She noted there are a lot of volunteer man-hours that are accumulated for events like this to make the evening a success.

In total, the Town of Neepawa received $3,487.92 from the Sports Dinner, while the Neepawa Natives received $4,937.92. The junior “A” hockey team collected a larger portion of the net profits because it exclusively contributed the ‘Trip to Paradise’, a vacation package that was auctioned off during the evening. The donated item included access to a luxury condominium along the coast of Mexico.