A neighbourhood pub proprietor makes no bones about why he's sponsoring an Olympic skeleton hopeful.
"There's not a lot of things for a small business to get involved with in relation to the Olympics," said Dave Barnett, owner of the Regal Beagle Bar and Grill on West Broadway. "We're not a Molsons or a VISA. We don't have the big money."
Unable to be an official Olympic sponsor, Barnett and his business partners connected with Keith Loach, a Calgary native on the Canadian National Skeleton Team, who posted an ad on an online classified website in search of sponsorship.
"We saw Keith's ad, had a few conversations, liked what he was saying and thought he would be a great fit for what we are doing," Barnett said.
Loach spent yesterday at the Regal Beagle to launch the Loach Bowl, a donation drive for staff and patrons to add to the more than $15,000 Barnett and his team have already donated.
"We make as much as we can go out and earn," Loach said. "Last year I made as much as Roberto Luongo made in a single period."
