On Saturday, May 27th people from Martensville, Warman and surrounding areas all rallied together to show their support and love for Mike Smith, who recently passed away following a battle with cancer, and the entire Smith family.
A ball tournament, dubbed ‘Hit Mike Home’ was organized to raise funds to help with expenses to bring Mike back to his home in Martensville from the hospital; however, plans changed to instead celebrate the life of Smith, who, judging by the turnout, made a huge impact in countless lives.
Through a silent auction, raffle prizes, 50/50, tournament entry fees, donations, sponsorships and more an incredible total of approximately $73,000 was raised, which will go to the Smith family to help with various medical expenses incurred. According to event organizer Angie Reddekopp, this is a preliminary total. A portion of this amount was donated by Warman Fire Rescue, who held a pancake breakfast over the weekend, with donations going towards supporting the Smith family. In addition to this, the winner of the 50/50 draw, who won a total of $1890, donated their winnings back.
“It was an amazing day celebrating a very community-minded individual. It was great to see everyone come together to celebrate the life of Mike and to honour his life and support the family. It is events like this that make me feel so proud to call Martensville home. The way this community came together was incredible,” Reddekopp said.
A total of 16 teams participated in the tournament, with all teams playing three games, and the teams that made it to the final playing four.
There are plans to host an annual memorial tournament in honour of Mike, with proceeds going towards supporting a different charity or individual in need each year.
“As we were setting up on Friday, Mike’s son suggested that we do this every year and give the money to different charities or families in need because Mike was so involved in the community, that’s something he would have liked to see happen. The fact his son came up with the idea is such an amazing thing and goes to show the kind of person that Mike was and the traits that he passed on,” Reddekopp stated.
