Stettler’s Theren Churchill will get to share one of the biggest milestones of his young career back in the place where it all started.
On Tuesday the Toronto Argonauts’ offensive lineman will spend his day with the Grey Cup celebrating with his family and the town of Stettler.
Churchill said getting the opportunity to do this for the community is awesome.
“These past couple of months it’s been amazing and this last week or two where we’ve been planning this event… Everything’s come full circle in a way,” he said.
“It’s where I started so it means a lot to be able to bring the Grey Cup home to my hometown and share that with the community.”
From 1-3 p.m., he will be visiting Stettler Elementary School and William E. Hay Stettler Secondary Campus before moving to Thrive 360 Fitness from 4-6 p.m. They will then finish up at the Stettler Recreation Centre from 7-8:30 followed by a private alumni meeting. There will be opportunities to get a photo with Churchill and the Grey Cup for a price of a donation.
The event at Thrive 360 Fitness will also be a fundraiser for Katie Bainbridge, owner of the location, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“[Katie’s] always been someone who helped me along my journey whenever I could go home and work out there. She even helped me out with doing some side jobs with on-field training with some kids throughout COVID-19,” he said.
“She’s really been one of my bigger supporters so I wanted to make sure when I brought it home I could do some benefit of some sort.”
Churchill explained since winning the Cup he’s had plenty of people eager to see it and noted it has been a fun four months since claiming the title.
Unfortunately, Churchill will only have Canadian football’s holy grail for just over 24 hours before he turns it over to one of his teammates from Calgary but plans to make the most of it.
“It’s going to be a jam-packed day… I’m really looking forward to being surrounded by a lot of the people who have helped me get there. My fiance, my son, my family, my friends, and the whole community. It’ll be a blast,” he added.
In just his third season in the Canadian Football League Churchill helped the Argos win the league’s ultimate prize. During the season he started in one game but appeared in 11 despite not playing in the big game. In the 109th Grey Cup, the Argonauts defeated the Winnipeg Bluebombers 24-23 in a thrilling victory.