Sage Club Skate-A-Thon a major success

Commentator/Courier photo submitted. Around we Go: Picture from the Foremost Sage Club Skate-A-Thon. Foremost and area youth skate laps in the civic centre to raise funds for their arena.

By Anna Smith
Commentator/Courier

January 15 marked the Foremost Sage Club’s annual skate-a-thon fundraiser, an event that only manages to get bigger and better with each passing year.

This year, the event was fortunate to host 85 skaters, said Sage Club member Steven Hougen. This group included all the youth that take part in Foremost Minor Hockey or the Foremost Skating Club, as well as various members of the community who wanted to do their part to raise funds.

“Our skaters ranged from ages four to 39,” said Hougen. “It was really nice to see that kind of turnout.”

This year, the fundraiser gathered a total of $41,016.25, an amount that’s an improvement over previous years, said Hougen. 

“All of it will be used for the continuing operation of the Foremost Civic Center,” said Hougen. “This fundraiser’s been going since I was a kid. I couldn’t say exactly how long, but you could say it’s been going for generations now.”

The Foremost Sage Club would like to extend their gratitude to everyone who participated in the event; the kids who skated countless laps in order to raise money for the space, the donors from Foremost and the greater southern Alberta community who made their pledges, the Village of Foremost, and the volunteers who helped organize and run the event.

“Their hard work and their sweat and determination is what makes it all come together,” said Hougen. “We just thought we’d like to get a thank you out to everybody who makes it happen. To be a donor, to work with the skaters, everyone who put in their time to make the event a success year after year.”

Hougen added that it’s not only the people in the village proper who make this possible, but extended community from along the Highway 3 corridor and beyond who recognize the importance of the civic centre and do their part to make the event a success.

“It’s a busy place in the winter,” said Hougen, and with the combined efforts of the Sage Club and beyond, the hope is for the centre to continue to host busy winters for years to come.