The Williams Lake Curling Club was recognized with an accessibility award of merit at the March 21 city council meeting.
The grant comes after the club completed work made possible thanks to receiving four grants to support accessibility renovations.
Maureen Straza of the Accessibility Advisory Committee presented the award to Mike Pederson, curling club president, Ken Hall, curling manager and Kristi Denby, on the board of directors for the club.
“The Williams Lake Curling Club made a great renovation to make their facility accessible and inclusive of everyone,” said Straza. “Not only for viewing but also for getting on the ice and actually curling, so thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart, from the City of Williams Lake and from the accessibility committee.”
Perderson thanked her for the nomination and recognized those who helped, including Hall, Denby as well as John Dryden.
Four grants contributed to the project the Northern Development Initiative Trust, the Federal Enabling Accessbility Fund, and a provincial Gaming Capital Project Grant and the Community Revitalization Fund.
The total grant funds were around $150,000 to update the facility.
Renovations are still being done to make accessible washrooms.
An elevator now takes people from the entry-level up to the ice level and then up to the lounge and viewing area on the top floor of the curling club.
“It was quite a process to get it organized,” said Pederson, noting the group needed to complete an accessibility audit to get things rolling with help from the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Association.
READ MORE: Williams Lake Curling Club wraps up a successful season
Ken Hall oversaw all of the installations, helping out to make the project happen.
“The guy’s an absolute magician when it comes to working with the electrical components but also when it comes to just an all around handy person to have and he just devotes himself to the club,” said Pederson, also thanking both Dryden and Denby as well.
“If we didn’t have those individuals on the board as volunteers working with us we wouldn’t have been able to move forward,” said Pederson.
The club has been working to rebuild the club after Covid, and has a board diverse in both age and gender, said Pederson.
With 159 adult members, he said the club is also gaining with younger members, with Rick Miller working hard to develop junior curling at the facility.
“The access upgrades, they allow us to be more inclusive,” said Pederson.
READ MORE: PHOTOS: Williams Lake Curling Club bonspiel fun includes on-ice plus off-ice action
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