Keith Dohey has been acclaimed the new president of the Hay River Curling Club.
Dohey accepted the nomination to lead the sports organization at its annual general meeting, held online on Oct. 6.
NNSL file photo
He replaces Davida Delorey, who had been president for about 10 years.
"So someone was going to have to take up that and make sure that we were going to be able to have a functioning executive and a season," said Dohey. "So being part of the club pretty well most of my life, it was one of those things that someone had to do, and I was happy to take that on for this year."
The new president, who is also a Hay River town councillor, had not previously held elected office with the club.
"I wasn't really in any official capacity as far as on the executive or the board or anything in the last few years," he said. "But I've been involved as a volunteer and whatnot for quite a few years."
At the annual meeting, Kandis Jameson was returned as treasurer.
However, there remain vacancies in the vice-president and secretary positions.
Other members of the club leadership include Matt Walsh as head icemaker, Glenn Smith as corporate league co-ordinator, Trudie Walsh as doubles league co-ordinator, Emilie Lemonde-Hinse as youth curling co-ordinator, and directors D'arcy Delorey and Candi Carleton.
"We've got a pretty good slate of people involved so far, but there are a couple of vacancies that we're going to hopefully fill in the near future," said Dohey.
The new president praised Davida Delorey's contribution to the club.
"As president and certainly I would say speaking on behalf of all of the members, Davida Delorey played a huge role in the success of our club," he said.
Delorey said she will probably miss being club president.
"It's been a big part of my life for a long time, but I think it's time that we get some fresh blood, some new blood, some young blood in there," she said. "And I think Keith is going to do a great job. He's got Hay River at heart and I know he'll have the curling club at heart, too. And I'll stand behind him and help him whatever way I can to make this transition a little bit easier for him."
Dohey said he recognizes that it's going to be a challenging year for the club, as it deals with Covid-19 restrictions.
However, he is optimistic that curlers will be able to adjust to the restrictions and have a successful year.
Dohey noted that the curling season will be launched in the first week of November.
The Hay River Curling Club received approval from the GNWT on Sept. 26 for its plan to resume modified play in light of Covid-19.
A separate plan is needed for the reopening of the clubroom/lounge, and Dohey said that is being prepared to submit to the GNWT.
"We're hoping to go forward with our lounge," he said. "It's a big part of our revenue, so it's something that we kind of need as a club to be able to operate."