Tribute to Kevin Wiebe
In 2001, Kevin Wiebe and Eric Dawson put the time and energy to make a dream of curling outdoors in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada a reality. It took hard work, creativity and gumption to make it happen and it did. In 2020 Kevin Wiebe passed away leaving a legacy in the community. He impacted everyone he interacted with from his family, his professional sales career, to the curling community and his friends. This page is a tribute to the person Kevin was. On February 7, 2021, the Ironman Outdoor Curling organization recognized the hard work and person Kevin was. The following are some of the moments from that day and the speeches given in Kevin’s name. Thanks to Kristen, Kevin’s wife and love, we also helped raised funds for HOPE worldwide Canada Summer Max Day camp for the first time as well at the Heart & Stroke Foundation. During a world wide pandemic we were unable to have organized curling so instead we had exhibition ice, one of Canada’s largest crokicurl and fundraising. Manitoba’s are know for their volunteer spirit and generosity to help their fellow neighbours.
We are honoured to say that the Kevin Wiebe Team was the Top Fundraising team that weekend and the team was awarded with a plaque on the Ironman Outdoor Curling trophy. Thank you to all the volunteers, partners and teams that helped to make our 20th anniversary and memories of Kevin extra special.
“Kevin Wiebe’s Team”
They have raised the most funds for charity. The running joke with our committee members was that no matter how hard Kevin played in the bonspiel, another committee member would knock him out of the tournament.
There was no stopping the Wiebe team this year! Congratulations, Krista and Caitlyn
If you never got a chance to meet Kevin, we hope you will take the time one day to curl and play in an Ironman Outdoor Curling event. By taking part you will get to know what kind of person Kevin was and enjoy that spirit that comes from playing outdoors.
Thank you to Krista Wiebe wife of Kevin Wiebe for being a huge part of our event and all her contributions this year. Here are few words from Krista:
Thank you for this opportunity to share a bit about Kevin. Anyone who knew Kevin will vouch that he was a generous man – with his time, his money and his possessions. In fact when he was young – Kevin’s mom would get mad at him for giving away his toys… that was essentially who he was – he lived to give of himself to others. He was also passionate about learning new things – like cooking, photography, and fixing everything under the sun… and again the first thing he would want to do would be to share it with others – cook perfect burgers, frame a beautiful photograph for a friend’s wedding, and help to fix whatever might be broken. I think Ironman Outdoor Curling was the perfect marriage of these things – sharing his love for curling with others and using his expertise and connections to create something new.
I think Kevin started curling when he was about 9 or 10 years old – it was a passion for him. He might have missed one MCA bonspiel in the 25 years we were together… and that was a disaster year – they just forgot to register. It was a love he shared with both of his parents as well and many friends who were like family. In true Kevin fashion he used his expertise to brighten other people’s lives – putting on a learn to curl clinic for our friends, volunteering his time in countless ways, sparing for other teams. His dream was to make it to the provincials which he did – 3 times with Mark Lukowich – that was such a proud moment. I’m not exactly sure how the idea for Ironman Outdoor Curling came to be – Kevin and Eric would always come up with creative ideas – but I think it is a long and involved story that only Eric would know. It was probably the challenge of seeing if they could make it happen… and that they did! The first one was planned and executed in less than 6 weeks. I can’t say I was surprised.
Over the years it just grew – real hacks, the trophy (the base was a donation of marble from someone he knew that made headstones), the prize machine, how to store and transport curling rocks for an ever growing event – somebody always know someone who would help – and who could say no to Kevin when he asked? There was always google and gumption in a pinch. It is really astounding how you have made this event grow so much over the years – I know he was very proud and pleased.
This past year was a challenging one. Kevin lost his mom in 2018, his dad in 2019 and he had to leave us just a few months ago. When we found out about the cancer we hoped he would have a few months and maybe even do a bit of ice fishing or come to this great event. But that was not meant to be. I do know he would have been touched to see the way you have honoured him – he was not much for fanfare but he loved his curling family and would have been touched to see how you are helping us fundraise for HOPE as well. Many of you were like family to him – so I want to thank you for your friendship to him and to our family over the years and for this special tribute to Kevin.
Krista Wiebe
