CHAMPIONS SPEAK - 2016 Hall of Fame Inductee Phyllis and Bob Cleland - Builder Athlete
by Sandra Wright
Phyllis and Bob Cleland have lived and played in the
Wetaskiwin community their whole lives. They were born,
grew up, attended school, married, raised their family and
worked…..all in the Wetaskiwin area. Bob is a third
generation farmer on his family farm in the Angus Ridge area
and Phyllis was employed as a physical education teacher at
Falun, Rose Brier, and Clear Vista. Sports have always been
an integral part of their essence and tonight we are
honouring Phyllis and Bob for their contributions and
achievements in ball and curling.
Bob comes by his skill, interest and participation in
curling & ball naturally, both his grandfather Ralph and
father Zene were avid Wetaskiwin curlers and his dad Zene
played professional baseball in the Western Canada League.
Phyllis too comes from a family who were also involved in
ball and curling. Her dad Gilbert played and organized ball
and both her dad and mom Ruby were highly involved in
building, curling at, and supporting the Westerose Curling
club. Also, growing up with five older brothers in a
sports-minded family probably contributed to Phyllis’
competitive spirit.
Bob and Phyllis are both accomplished athletes and between
them they have won many championships, medals, and awards.
They have both been impressive competitors in ball, Phyllis
as an outstanding softball pitcher and Bob in baseball and
slo-pitch. I’m told that at the present Bob and Phyllis
aren’t involved in a slo-pitch league but if an opportunity
came along tomorrow, they would both be more than capable of
playing. In curling, between men’s zones, mixed zones and
zones won when coaching, they have amassed a total of eleven
curling zone berths and attended numerous provincial
finals. If you are a competitive curler you know how
difficult it is to win even ONE zone so theirs is an amazing
record. They did win zone championships in mixed curling as
members of the same team even before they were married. I
guess they figured that if you could get along on the
curling ice you could get along in life and that’s turned
out to be so as they are celebrating their 46th wedding
anniversary this year.
Both Phyllis
and Bob still compete in curling, in fact just recently
Bob’s curling team won the “Skins League”. As senior
curlers both Bob and Phyllis still deliver from the hack
when many seniors are “stick” curlers. Must be due to
those good “knee” genes!! As you might imagine both Phyllis
and Bob are very competitive. Bob has been known for his
wicked takeout that at times has been so powerful that it
has popped the handles off of unsuspecting curling rocks in
the house! Also, Bob is probably the only “dinosaur” in the
Wetaskiwin Curling rink who still delivers his rocks with a
corn broom. Phyllis and Bob with your active lifestyle you
are indeed role models for all seniors,….let us in on your
secrets for longevity!
But, besides
being a sports oriented couple Phyllis and Bob are very much
family oriented. As their children were growing up they
taught and coached them in both curling and ball, passing on
their love and passion for both sports to their children.
Over the years they have also competed in curling with their
two daughters and son in a variety of combinations on
women’s teams, men’s teams and mixed teams. Needless to
say, the Cleland name is well known and well respected among
Wetaskiwin curling circles. As well, for twenty years the
whole family played together on the Angus Ridge slo-pitch
team. Besides their children many other youngsters have
benefited from Phyllis and Bob’s volunteer efforts, whether
it was building the ball diamonds and organizing and
coaching ball at Angus Ridge or teaching and coaching Junior
Curlers at the Wetaskiwin Curling Club.
Your friends
and family describe you as a kind and caring couple who are
quiet and reserved (except maybe on the curling ice). and
good neighbours always willing to help out. I’ve had many
comments from Wetaskiwin residents confirming how deserving
you are of this recognition; you’ve been a popular choice
for this award.
Phyllis and
Bob, you are indeed positive examples for all in this room
and everyone in our community. We salute your family values,
your lifelong involvement in spor,t and the volunteer
contributions you have made to young people.
Congratulations on your induction into the Wetaskiwin and
County Sports Hall of Fame.
