by KELLY FRIESEN
Journal editor
The community of LeRoy is one-step closer to building its new rink as they held a successful fundraiser for the cause on Saturday.
The fundraiser, which was called Raise the Roof, started at 8 a.m. with a pancake breakfast and included a Bruce Schpansky Auction, bouncy castles for children, beer gardens and a cabaret with Matalski Music.
"It went really well and it absolutely exceeded our expectations," said Kari Moore, the chairperson for the event. "The turnout was great and a lot of people got involved and donated their time for the cause. The LeRoy community got really involved, but so did surrounding communities like Watson and Humboldt. We received donations and a lot of support from the surrounding communities."
The community lost its old rink, the LeRoy Memorial Arena, on May 10, 2013 in a major fire. The cause of the fire is currently unknown.
The auction was without question the main attraction at the fundraiser. It included several big-ticket items such as a 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche, a 1930 Ford Model A Tudor, a 2014 John Deere 48-inch Decl Zero Turn Lawn Mower and a Saskatchewan Roughriders private box for the Labour Day classic.
"We don't have the exact number right now, but the total amount raised from it (the auction) should be over $120,000" said Moore. "We hope to get the exact number sometime by the end of the week. Because it was a charity event, people bid quite generously and we were really happy to see that. It was definitely a successful auction."
The fundraiser pushed LeRoy closer to having enough money to build its new arena; however, there is still a lot more work to do before having enough funds to pay for the whole project.
"We're not that close to having enough money raised, but the auction was a big step," said Moore. "We have a corporate sponsorship drive coming up and that's a big part of our fundraising. We also will apply for some government grants. So we're not there yet, but we're in the process of raising enough money to put it all together."
The plan is to start putting together the groundwork for the new arena this fall.
"We plan on getting started on it this fall, and we'll go from there towards building it," said Moore.
