At its regular meeting in February, the board of directors set the membership fee for 2023.

The annual fee has risen to $180 from $165. However, all members are eligible to a free locker. They simply have to register their locker number.

Social memberships will continue to be $20 per year.

Everyone who has known Bill Donald understands that our lives have been touched by a man of great generosity and dedication to Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club.

Bill’s efforts and care were not only recognized by the club when he was made a life member, but also by the province when he received the Volunteer of the Year award a few years ago.

Without Bill, the club would have struggled to function. He was the greenskeeper for many years, and he took great pride in delivering the best greens in Toronto, including greens for two national championships.

He was so well respected that city staff gave their all to ensure we had what he required for the club. Bill was regularly the drawmaster for tournaments. He was an umpire, and even a regular sponsor of tournaments. No one has ever given more to Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club than Bill Donald.

Bill was a friend to everyone. He was knowledgeable, humble and a great advisor.

Goodbye Bill, you will not be forgotten.

Gordon Jones
President
Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club

In early January, Bill Donald passed away peacefully in hospital after a short illness. He will be sorely missed by the lawn bowling community in general and by Willowdale Lawn Bowling Club specifically.

The third and youngest son of the late William and Jean Donald, Bill grew up in Toronto. The family lived in a house on Manor Road and everyone helped in the family business, a Scottish Bakery.

After graduating from the University of Western Ontario, Bill taught with the North York Board of Education from 1951 to 1970. He was a secondary school geography teacher who enjoyed working with young people.

Bill took an extended sabbatical and travelled to many places around the world. He returned with stories of adventures in Australia, Africa, the Philippines, Europe, the British Isles and New Zealand.

He resumed teaching in 1974 and retired in 1987.

Bill made friends wherever he went. He enjoyed golf, curling, cribbage, snooker and, of course, lawn bowling. He was a lifelong member of Willowdale Bowling Club.

Bill always kept himself busy and his fingerprint is virtually everywhere at WLBC. His easy laughter, sharp wit, generosity, and easy conversation will be missed.

Memorial donations can be made to North York General Hospital Foundation.

Willowdale member Albert Wu (centre), skipped a men's senior triples team comprised of Willowdale member Arnie Markowitz (left) and former Willowdale member Hosein Zhian (right).
The trio travelled to Victoria to win the national championship on August 25, 2022.

Congratulations Albert, Arnie and Hosein.

Elizabeth Cormack (left) and Chrystal Shephard show off the women's pairs trophy they earned on August 15, 2022, at the national championships held in Burlington, Ontario.

The pair lost only one game in the round robin portion of the tournament. Their bowling was nothing short of spectacular during the entire tournament and especially during the playoffs.

Congratulations Elizabeth and Chrystal!

Willowdale hosted the provincial youth lawn bowling championships on July 2 and 3. Twelve young bowlers competed for a chance to play in the national championships in Port Credit, ON, which will be held July 31 to August 6.

Eight males and four females competed in round robin play on Saturday. Playoffs were held Sunday.

As we all know, the adjustment from grass to carpet (or vice-versa) takes some time. By the playoff round on Sunday, however, the young people made their adjustments.

There were some excellent shots made by all the bowlers in the elimination round. And the shots continued to improve through the games for gold, silver and bronze. There was much polite applause from spectators for shots well made on every rink.

Noah LaRoche (Burlington) took the gold, Jacob Hyatt (Cobourg) the silver and Jack Reistetter (Oakville) the bronze in the male category.

Ella Conlin (Oakville) took the gold, Ella Hammond (Oakville) the silver and Veronica McLean (Oakville) the bronze in the female category.

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the weekend a success. The grounds looked great. The coffee and snacks flowed. And any problem that arose was solved.

Well done, everyone!

Willowdale member Vince Donahoe skipped the men's fours team to gold at the provincial championships in Hanover on June 11 to 13.

Vince, on the left, is joined by lead Gary Butineau(Midland), second Mark McFayden (Port Credit) and vice-skip Glen Patton (Midland).

Interestingly, for a period of time Vince technically held both provincial singles and fours titles. He won the men's division in 2019 as a solo bowler. Because of COVID, the next provincial champion was crowned July 10, 2022. Vince and his teammates represented Ontario in the national championships in Burlington in August 2022, finishing fourth. Congratulations Vince et al.