On Friday, October 13, prior to the Kimberley Dynamiter game against Grand Forks at the Kimberley Civic Centre, a major, and astounding, announcement was made. A Kimberley born man, Mike Gould, committed to gift the junior hockey club, and Kimberley Minor Hockey, with $7.5 million.
It was a commitment heard round the country, and was the talk of the news cycle for the next few days, as media around the country broadcast the story.
However, a month later, the club has yet to receive any of the funds committed.
The Kimberley Dynamiters put out a statement this week saying the following:
“The Kimberley Dynamiters would like to provide an update on the commitment from Mr. Gould.
The commitment promised to the Kimberley Dynamiters and Kimberley Minor Hockey has not been received.
The organization believes that the completion of the season is the main priority and efforts will be dedicated to that purpose.
We thank all of the Dynamiter fans and the wider community for their interest and continued support.
This will be the only statement the Dynamiter organization will be releasing. If there are any further developments, we will provide an update at that time.
Thank you,
Kimberley Dynamiters Board of Directors.”
Kimberley Minor Hockey also put out a statement saying rumours of a large donations are affecting their fundraising.
“RE: 7.5 million dollar donation:
One month ago the Kimberley Dynamiters along with Mr. Mike Gould made a public announcement of a commitment to donate 7.5 million dollars to the Kimberley Dynamiters organization with the intent of the Dynamiters donating some of the funds to Kimberley Minor Hockey.
We are writing to inform the public that Kimberley Minor Hockey has not received any donations of any large sums of money this year.
Kimberley Minor Hockey relies on generous donations from the community to help support our fundraising during our tournaments. This year, KMHA members have been getting turned down for donations on the assumption of a large,rumoured donation and we fell that it needs to be clarified that there has been no money donated to the association or its members. The players, families and Kimberley Minor Hockey would like to thank all of the local businesses and sponsors who support our association. We are asking the public for its continued support as we rely heavily on donations and grants to keep minor hockey fees affordable for our members.
Kimberley Minor Hockey has had no direct contact with Mr. Gould and has not been promised any money by any person or organization.
Thank you
Curtis McLaren
President
Kimberley Minor Hockey Association”
Reached by telephone, Mr. Gould responded to questions about the passage of time.
“I’ve had some issues, and I’ve had some family maintenance issues that I’ve kept quiet, but I guess everybody needs to know everybody’s business I guess,” he said.
“I understand where it’s coming from, but the Dynamiters will have their money within the next 10 days.”
Gould said he was then going to host “a big party, and everybody who wants to come out, or who’ve said something bad about me, come and have some crow pie.”
