Campbell’s Bay played host to the second annual Maurice Beauregard memorial 3-pitch softball tournament on Sunday afternoon.
Beauregard, a former Campbell’s Bay mayor, councillor and firefighter, passed away two years ago after a battle with cancer. The first tournament was held last year in honour of his legacy.
The stands were packed with ball fanatics, many of whom knew Beauregard. Some folks brought their own lawn chairs, while others still leaned on the ballpark fence and chatted with friends old and new.
Families, couples, and teams on break enjoyed hamburgers, hot dogs, a few beers and good conversation while they watched the games.
The Corriveau family team won the recreational division. Patrick St-Cyr, one of its members, said the victory meant a lot to them.
“We fell short last year, so it was good to be able to win this one for a good cause,” he said, adding the team is already hoping to be back next year.
The open division champion was a team from Kruger, a Gatineau paper company that was also Beauregard’s former place of employment, and nearly everyone on the team knew him.
“I’ll retire now, finish on top,” one Kruger player said in the . . .
post-game huddle, highlighting the importance of the moment.
Beauregard’s wife, Kelly McMahon-Beauregard, said when her husband passed the family wanted to do something to honour his memory. When they settled on a ball tournament, she chose the last weekend in May — their anniversary weekend.
“I wanted to focus on something other than sadness,” McMahon-Beauregard said. “It’s the perfect time for a ball tournament. All the kids are still in school, so people are still around, and the weather is getting nice.”
Softball is especially meaningful to McMahon-Beauregard because she met her husband on a ball field. Although Beauregard wasn’t an all-star player, the sport meant a lot to him.
Softball was once very popular in Campbell’s Bay, and there were a few tournaments in the town every year. Now, this is the only one. McMahon-Beauregard hopes to make softball popular again thanks to events like these.
McMahon-Beauregard said all the money raised at the tournament goes back into the community. Some of the funds are used to improve the park in Campbell’s Bay that bears Maurice’s name. Just this year, a shuffleboard court and a splash pad were put in.
“The next step is to raise money to fix the [batter’s] cage. It’s in pretty rough shape,” she said.
The rest of the money funds three $500 scholarships for young people giving back to their own communities – one student from each of Pontiac’s high schools.
“It has to be for leaders,” McMahon-Beauregard says, just like her husband was in Campbell’s Bay. Their son Hunter came up with the idea for the award.
Last year, the awards went to Melissa Pilon from Dr. Wilbert Keon School, Hunter Beauregard from Pontiac High School and Hugo Boisvert from École secondaire Sieur de Coulonge.
More than 100 volunteers helped out at this year’s tournament, doing everything including slinging hot dogs and hamburgers, scheduling events, coordinating with teams, and calling the games over the PA system.
This year’s tournament expanded to feature a horseshoes competition, with 10 teams registered. Many people tried the sport for the first time, and had a lot of fun doing it.
Seeing the community get together for an event like this, McMahon-Beauregard said, is exactly what her husband would have wanted.
“Mo would have loved this.”
by K.c. Jordan
Campbell’s Bay
May 26, 2024
