High Prairie Curling Association Nets $10K Grand Prize in Monsanto's "Build a Better House" Community Curling Club Improvement Program

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwire - May 8, 2012) - The northern Alberta town of High Prairie, specifically the High Prairie Curling Association, is the 2012 winner of Monsanto Canada's "Build a Better House" Community Curling Club Improvement Program.

The grand prize of $10,000 will go a long way to helping the community of 3,000 upgrade its 4-sheet curling facility which was built in 1969. The club has a total of 165 members, including a growing junior membership of 45 young people. The rink is also utilized by two schools in the region and hosts four bonspiels a year, as well as other private functions throughout the winter.

"We are thrilled to be selected as this year's grand prize winner" said Maureen Butterfield, president of the High Prairie Curling Association. "We certainly have had our share of challenges in the past few years and this money will go a long way to ensuring we can continue to play our favourite game. This is such a wonderful program and it means so much to our community."

With the influx of funds from the contest, the High Prairie Curling Association has three key improvement projects planned that include roof repairs to stop bothersome leaks that impact ice conditions; adding additional insulation to the building; and purchasing and installing a new furnace to improve the energy efficiency of the club.

The High Prairie Curling Association entry was built around the theme of "What curling means to us" and featured young and old alike talking about their involvement with the sport of curling and the experiences and friendships built at their local curling club. You can view their submission at the following YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ujPJFCqZDY&feature=youtube. As one member best expressed it, "I can't imagine my life without curling!"

In total, 17 curling clubs from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were awarded cash grants to improve their curling clubs. Three secondary prizes of $5,000 each went to curling clubs in Colonsay, Saskatchewan; Griffin, Saskatchewan and Oak Lake, Manitoba. Thirteen (13) other curling clubs took home cash prizes of $2,000 to assist with a wide array of improvement projects. Entries came in all forms this year from YouTube videos and songs, poems, scrapbooks and personal stories.

Every application received between Oct. 31, 2011 and Jan. 31, 2012 was reviewed by a panel of judges that included: Cathy Bowman and Kathryn Larsen, account executives with ProMar Management Services and liaisons with the Canadian Curling Association; Resby Coutts, president of CurlManitoba and owner of www.theCurler.com; Trish Jordan, public affairs director with Monsanto Canada; Brad Goossen, marketing coordinator with Monsanto Canada; and Joel Wiebe, marketing associate with Monsanto Canada.

"We have really appreciated the opportunity to hear stories from rural residents across Western Canada about their communities and their love of curling," said Jordan. "This started out as a way to give back to local curling clubs and help them with financing improvements to their clubs. What we got in return were some amazing stories about how critical the local curling rink is to many of these small towns and how passionate rural residents are about curling. The program has been very rewarding for us."

Monsanto launched its "Imagine a Better House" Community Curling Club Improvement Program in November 2007 with the aim of assisting small-town curling clubs in Western Canada with local improvement projects. Applicants were required to provide information about their club, the community in which it resides and why the curling club was in need of assistance. When this year's funding of $51,000 is combined with cash awards given out since 2008, Monsanto has been able to provide almost $290,000 in cash awards to 101 different rural community clubs across the Prairies.

"We appreciate the effort all the clubs put into their submissions," said Jordan. "This program has had a good run and made a difference in many local communities. I always feel some sadness that we aren't in a position to help everyone because clearly there is a need out there for financial assistance to keep many of these buildings operational."

Monsanto is an agricultural company and a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world's natural resources such as water and energy. You can learn more about our business and our commitments at www.monsanto.ca.

Note to Editors: The complete list of winning curling clubs is attached and will also be available online at www.monsanto.ca as of May 11, 2012.

"Build a Better House" Community Curling Club
Improvement Program
2012 Winners

Grand Prize Winner $10 000
High Prairie Curling Association, High Prairie, AB

$5 000 Winners
Colonsay Curling club - Colonsay, SK
Griffin Curling Club - Griffin, SK
Oak Lake Curling Club - Oak Lake, MB

$2 000 Winners
Abernethy Curling Club - Abernethy, SK
Arborg Curling Club - Arborg, MB
Boissevain Curling Club - Boissevain, MB
Carmangay Curling Rink - Carmangay, AB
Clanwilliam Curling Club - Clanwilliam, MB
Elnora Agri-Centre & Curling Rink - Elnora, AB
Glenboro Curling Club - Glenboro, MB
Hazlet Curling Club - Hazlett, SK
Innisfail Curling Club - Innisfail, AB
Roleau Skating & Curling Club - Roleau, SK
Smoky Lake Curling Club - Smoky Lake, AB
Teulon Curling Club - Teulon, MB
Valemount Curling Club - Valemount, BC