Williard Reaves. Will Loftus. George Reed.
What do they all have in common? They’ve all had impressive CFL careers.
What else do they have in common? They’ll all be in Yorkton this weekend for the tenth annual Cornerstone Credit Union Football Night in Saskatchewan. “We’ve got some impressive guests coming this year, big names, big guys,” suggested Yorkton Minor Football president Roby Sharpe. “We’ll have Williard Reaves, George Reed, Will Loftus, Dale West.
“Gene Makowsky is also coming out, and we had him here for the very first Football Night, so it’s great to have him coming back.”
Sharpe also mentioned that Saskatchewan Roughrider Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Craig Reynolds will once again be in attendance. “Reynolds is coming back again, so that’s a big deal,” mentioned Sharpe. “Any time you can get a guy like that to attend your event, it’s awesome.”
In addition to Reynolds, former Roughrider head coach Bob Dyce will also be there as the keynote speaker. “It’s great to be able to get a guy like Bobby to come to our Football Night,” said Sharpe, adding that he had been hounding Dyce for years, trying to get him to attend. “He’s a friend of mine going back to when he coached me in Manitoba, and for years I said to him that we have to get him down here for Football Night.
“He thought maybe no one would want to hear him speak, but I told him, ‘Bobby, no matter what happens from here on, you were at one point the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. You’re in the history books as the Rider head coach, so everyone here will want to listen to what you have to say’.”
Football Night in Saskatchewan is Yorkton Minor Football’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and according to Sharpe, all the money raised goes right back into the community. “The actual money that we raise at Football Night in Saskatchewan goes towards the operation of Yorkton Minor Football and to our kids,” said Sharpe, continuing, “It was started to keep football affordable for all of our kids, and that’s what the night continues to be about; raising money so that the local area kids can afford to play football in the city.”
While raising money is always important, Sharpe believes that the funds raised now are even more vital now that Yorkton Minor Football has seen an increase in kids registering for the sport. “For our spring league – the Kinsmen Tackle Football League – we usually get 80 kids, but this year we have over 120,” suggested the YMF president. “We also get more kids registering in all our age categories in the fall, so all the money raised at the Football Night is even more important to keep the costs down for everyone.”
The tenth annual Cornerstone Credit Union Football Night in Saskatchewan takes place this Saturday. Corporate tables are all sold out for this year, while there are a very minimal amount of single tickets still available.
To book a table at next year’s 2017 Football Night, send an email to [email protected].
