NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Candice and John Compton work the grill at the Medicine Hat Cubs home opener barbecue on Sunday. All of the food and drinks were donated to the Cubs as the barbecue was to raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Sunday’s home opener for the Cubs wasn’t just about the game.
Medicine Hat may have lost 3-0 in the game, but they had a win outside of the arena. The team hosted a tailgate barbecue to raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association before the game. Balon Corporation donated the use of a barbecue, Reg’s Meats donated the hamburgers and hot dogs and Baker Hughes supplied the beverages.
The barbecue raised a total of $580 that will be donated to CMHA alongside the money raised in the team’s Hyundai raffle, which is running until Oct. 15. Anyone who wants to buy raffle tickets or wants more information can do so at MHCubsraffle.com
For John Compton, who works at Balon Corp., and his wife Candace, it was an opportunity to help that they wouldn’t have turned down.
“I work for mental health so it means a lot to me and we know a lot of the community whose been affected these last couple of years,” she said.
“Ryan Pancoast, (former Cub) who passed away last year, we’re close personal friends with his folks. So we know them really well. When they asked us to come out and help with the Cubs opening game and supply the food to raise money for mental health, we jumped on that pretty quick,” he said. “We’re glad to be here.”
Cubs president Troy Sandau told the News in a previous interview he feels the support of the community with donations like this and the atmosphere around the team.
“The sponsorships support’s been great and all of our support throughout the community for not only giving back to us but just the word on the street and the atmosphere around the guys, it’s phenomenal and I’m very grateful for the community support,” he said.
The focus on mental health comes from the sudden passing of seven men last year in Medicine Hat as a result of suicide. Four of them were former Cubs players. The team put on a mental health seminar during the second day of their training camp to teach players about knowing when to ask for help, who to ask and how to help others.
The Cubs have not set a date yet, but a memorial game is being planned in December for the four former players.
“We really hope the community comes out and supports that game, not only that but the jersey auction after for our retro jerseys,” Sandau said.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly identified Candace Compton as Linda Compton.
