A packed Weyburn Legion took in a pair of entertaining guest speakers Saturday night as the Weyburn Beavers held their annual Sports Dinner. Former NFL player, and Weyburn native, Brett Jones and Saskatchewan Roughrider running back A.J. Ouellette were the guests at the dinner, which is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the baseball club.
“Both our guests, A.J. Ouellette and Brett Hones, couldn’t have been better,” said Garnet Hansen, the team president. “Real nice, down-to-earth people, great messages, and I think everybody really enjoyed it.”
Jones and Ouellette both spoke of their career paths, coming from small towns to finding success on the gridiron.
Jones talked about his journey from playing pee wee football in Weyburn, to the Weyburn Comprehensive Eagles, to the University of Regina Rams, to the Calgary Stampeders and then a seven-year NFL career.
Ouellette spoke about coming from a town of 2,200 in Ohio, to starting as a walk-on with the Ohio University Bobcats, having his confidence shaken after being cut from the NFL to regaining that confidence in the CFL.
They also shared humorous stories and memories from their careers, let us know who the most famous people they have as a contact in their phones are, and gave some advice to the athletes in the audience. Jones also commented on the career of Darren Abel, noting that while he could coach at any level, anywhere in the world, he was best suited for Weyburn.
The night also included a silent auction, a live auction and a 50/50 draw, all of which were successful.
“We had lots of good things, and seemed to have a fairly good return,” Hansen said of the auctions. “We haven’t been able to take the time to count everything up, but I think it was a very successful evening all around.”
On the team side, it was also a big positive, with head coach Cam Williams noting it was an opportunity for the whole team to spend time together away from the diamond, which appeared to have some immediate benefits the next day, as the Beavers beat the Moose Jaw Miller Express on the road Sunday.