Board Members & MCA Representatives
Get to know the Board Members and MCA Representatives.
MCA Board Members
Jeff Wright
President of MCA
Jeff is currently the President of the MCA and a member of Exmoor Country Club. He brings over 43 years of curling experience, including participating in Men‘s Olympic Trials, USA Men’s Nationals, and USA Mixed Nationals. When not on the ice, Jeff is VP of Sales for RJ Furniture located in Waukegan, IL.
Jim Wilson
Vice President of MCA
Jim is the MCA Vice President and an MCA Rep for Chicago Curling Club. He has been a member of CCC since 2010. Previous to that he was a member of North Shore CC, Wilmette CC, Oak Park CC, and Madison CC. Jim has been a competitive curler over the years and still plays in Senior Nationals. In his spare time, he enjoys cheering for the Cubs, Blackhawks and the Green Bay Packers, while still playing golf and riding his road bike.
Jeff Warner
Treasurer of MCA
Jeff is the Treasurer of the MCA and a member of Exmoor Country Club. He has been curling at Exmoor since 1969. Jeff has been a CPA since 1977, and the CFO for BOS Holdings with headquarters outside of Chicago.
Sherryanne Porter
Secretary of MCA
Sherryanne is the current Secretary of the MCA. She started curling in 2006 at Chicago Curling Club. Sherryanne used her University of Chicago degree to write eleven books and numerous papers and articles. She loves to travel for research and has been to over 100 countries. Currently, she is restoring 2.6 acres in Northfield and 1,800 acres in Kansas to pre-1800s condition.
Shannon Brown
Media & Communications Director
Shannon currently runs the social media and communications side of the MCA. Curling ties run strong in her family, so she first stepped on the ice at Exmoor Country Club at the age of five. When not creating flyers or posting blogs, Shannon works as a marine biologist.
MCA Representatives
Phil Burian
MCA Representative - Cedar Rapids
Phil is the MCA Rep and President from the Cedar Rapids Curling Club. Phil started curling in 2013, which was the same year Cedar Rapids Curling Club started its operations. He is an attorney practicing in litigation, and he is blessed to have a wife and son who enable his curling habit.
Sara Gaum
MCA Representative - Chicago
Sara is currently an MCA Rep for the Chicago Curling Club. Sara enjoys long walks down the sheet, take-outs, and broomstacking. Curling highlights include trying out for the 2018 Israeli Olympic Team and winning the Kettle Morraine Mixed Bonspiel costume contest three years in a row.
Kate Ross
MCA Representative - Des Moines
Kate is the MCA Rep and President for the Des Moines Curling Club. When she started curling in 2017, she made it her mission to bring the club into the digital age by updating their website, registration procedures, and building their presence on social media. Within three months, she was the Media and Communications Chair. Her team ‘Strange Brewm’ participates (and lately places) in every Des Moines league. For Kate, curling is about community, not competition, and she values the people that she has met along the way.
Steve Wright
MCA Representative - Exmoor
Steve is currently the MCA Rep for Exmoor Country Club. He has been curling for 16 years at Exmoor Country Club and has participated in numerous bonspiels. He also has played competitively at Club Nationals where he represented Exmoor CC. Steve is married with a 20-month-old son. He works in medical sales covering much of Illinois, and when not curling, Steve enjoys golf and boating.
Andrew Wolek
MCA Representative - Northwestern
Andrew is the MCA Rep for Northwestern and is the acting president of Northwestern University’s Curling Club, in which he has been a member since starting his Ph.D. studies at Northwestern in 2017. A transplant from the Northeast, he is thankful for how welcoming the curling community is in the area.
Steve Young
MCA Representative - St. Louis
Steve is the MCA Rep for the St. Louis Curling Club. He started curling in 2009 and is a founding member of St Louis CC. Steve just finished a three-year term on the club’s board and was vice president for the past two years. He is a legal assistant with the Social Security Hearing Office. Steve is married and has two 7-year old daughters who are excited to start curling.
Steve Parke
MCA Representative - Waltham
Steve Parke is a new representative as of 2019 but has served several terms and positions on the Waltham Curling Club Board. His first curling experience was in Zermatt, Switzerland in 2006, and he has been a member at Waltham since 2008. Steve has also been a member at Windy City and Illinois Central curling clubs. Steve is currently retired from a 35-year career in IT. He now spends his time traveling, curling and skiing in the winter, and golfing in the summer.
Walter Burns
MCA Representative - Wilmette
Walter is the MCA Rep and President of Wilmette Curling Club. He has curled for 25+ years and has been on the MCA Board for 15+ years in various capacities, including past MCA president. Walter is still active in the bonspiel circuit, and he enjoying providing guidance to all new and novice curlers.
Aaron DeGagne
MCA Representative - Windy City
Aaron is currently the MCA Rep for Windy City Curling Club. He has curled for 12 years and has lived in the Chicago region for just over three years. Aaron learned to curl in high school in Ontario and has previously been a member of the Curling Club of Notre Dame and Chicago Curling Club. One of Aaron’s curling highlights is 1st Event Runner-Up at the 2018 MCA Prairie State Challenge.
Courtney Schmidt
USCA Representative
Courtney is the current USCA Rep for the MCA and the Great Lakes Curling Association. She has been an active member of the USA Curling Association Board since 2014, and she currently the Chair. Courtney belongs to Mayfield Curling Club, and her interests include snow skiing and coastal sailing.
Brian Stoiber
Technology Manager
Brian Stoiber was appointed the Technology Manager for the MCA in part due to his extensive experience with the website development and IT background as the Director of IT for Laser Products Industries. He has been curling since 2016, and he is currently the President of Windy City Curling Club.
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