PREECEVILLE - This past year, two local high school students have been affected by life-changing health challenges.
In May, Archer Franklin, a Grade 12 student from Kelvington, was diagnosed with a condition which resulted in a bone marrow transplant this fall. Since June, he and his family have been living between the University Hospital and a rented suite. Franklin was discharged on Christmas Day and was feeling better but still has a long way to go.
In October, Cheyenne Peterson, a Grade 10 student from Sturgis, was diagnosed with a brain tumour. She and her family have been in and out of Saskatoon for her treatments since then. In conjunction with the Super Slam Tournament on Dec. 29, with all proceeds going to the Franklin and Peterson families, organizers also hosted a Facebook auction to raise additional funds to help these families with additional expenses.
As a result of the generosity of so many, the Super Slam raised a grand total of $23 553 for Archer and Cheyenne.
“The event started out small,” said Arlene Prestie, one of the organizers. “And it was a good reason to bring back the old Super Slam. A couple of our senior girls players, Lexi Prouse, Addison Danielson, Cassidy Paterson and Sarah Masko, along with Cliff Prestie and myself, were talking when we were playing in Martensville, discussing that we should do something for the two student athletes and their families. We were hoping to raise a few hundred dollars to help each of the two families with their medical expenses.”
The girls started asking local businesses in the area for raffle prizes and then families and businesses contacted organizers, wanting to help with money and a vast variety of items for the cause.
“The auction was Dallas Burym’s idea, so successful,” said Prestie. “In the spirit of giving, the bids for the items have soared which just goes to show how great the people around us are. The support and generosity from the people in our joint communities is beyond what we could have imagined,” said Prestie.
“The Basketball Super Slam event brought many communities together: Preeceville, Sturgis, Kelvington, Norquay, Canora, Yorkton and beyond. It was heartwarming to see it unfold. The gym was full of players and spectators all day, and the energy was palpable,” said Dallas Burym, another organizer.
The Junior Super Slam champs were The Warriors from Preeceville, and second place went to the Beauties and the Beast from Sturgis.
In the senior category, the Clippers from Norquay placed first with the Bucket Getters from Sturgis in second.
Winners of the Shooting Competitions were:
Sharpshooter Junior- Erl Dela Torre, first and Kaiden Bourassa, second
Sharpshooter Senior- Francis Albarracin, first.
The sharp shooter contest involved contestants shooting five basketballs from three different stations around the basket in a limited time frame.
Becky Scheller was the 50-50 raffle winner, and donated her winnings back to the event.
The Presties and Dallas Burym wish to acknowledge the following:
- To all basketball players representing all of the communities mentioned above who entered the tournaments and brought donations with them.
- To Flipping Fashions from Kelvington for designing and donating the Super Slam shirts for the winning junior and senior teams.
- To Western R.V. Country from Calgary for sponsoring the custom basketball jerseys for the winners of the senior tournament.
- To the countless families and businesses who donated both cash and auction/raffle items.
- To the people who made their donations through their auction bids and supported the event by attending as spectators.
- To Evan Rostotski, John Algabrae, Jesse Santos, Cliff Prestie and Heath Morin for officiating games all night, and to Meghan Morton, Cary Franklin, Emily Prestie and Laura Sliva who took care of registrations and 50/50.
- To Dallas Burym for setting up and managing the online auction.
- To Tammy, Ryan and Lexi Prouse as well as Addison Danielson and Cassidy Paterson for organizing donations, and helping throughout the tournaments.
- To Rachelle Kashuba for running the servery through both tournaments.
- To the Preeceville students for organizing donations, officiating games, and working at the raffle table.
- Thank you to Kim Murray, Becky Scheller, and Leslea Hanson for helping with supervision.
Thank you all for being part of this incredible group effort.
The families were reported to be overwhelmed. Neither could believe the amount of community support they received and were in disbelief of what had been accomplished and the sheer number of people reaching out. Both families say it will help them immensely and they are “so very appreciative and grateful.”
