ARCOLA - The Arcola Optimist Club held its 30th anniversary snowmobile rally in January.
This event had some cold temperatures, yet it had 550 people register with 380 riders taking to the 80 kilometres of trails.
On the trails, volunteers were at checkpoints with hot drinks and a fire to keep everyone toasty warm.
On March 15, the Optimist Club held its snowmobile rally banquet and while at the banquet, several donations were made to clubs and organizations.
According to Arcola Optimist Club president Blake Brownridge, agencies that sold tickets for the draws received money in return for helping with the sale of tickets for the large draws they held.
Brownridge said the club is very grateful to all the sponsors that helped make this event so successful, including the volunteers who help on the trails, at the rink, selling tickets and wherever they were needed. It takes a lot of volunteers to make such a big event work.
The Moose Mountain Snowmobile Club has always been a partner to the snowmobile rally and offers a great deal of help with grooming the trails and staking them, so they received a donation of around $18,000 from the Arcola Optimist.
Around $25,000 in total was given to the following clubs: the Arcola Curling Club, Arcola Daycare, Arcola Figure Skating Club, Arcola Minor Hockey and Arcola 4-H Club.
Also, the Moose Mountain Karate Club, Moose Mountain Wildlife Federation, Vipers Volleyball Club and the Gymnastics Club all received a donation from the Optimist.
Other funds will go into the Mac Murray Theatre, which is run by the Optimist Club, and the Optimist-Legion Hall in Arcola for some repairs and maintenance.
Brownridge would like to thank everyone who had a hand in helping, sponsoring and taking part in the 30th annual Arcola Snowmobile Rally.
