Butler recognized for stellar career

Mark Butler’s stellar curling career will be recognized tonight.

Butler, Mark O’Rourke, Kathy O’Rourke, Robert Campbell and Peter Gallant will be inducted into the P.E.I. Curling Hall of Fame and Museum tonight. The induction ceremony, which is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., will take place at the Cornwall Curling Club. Tickets are $10 each, and are available at the door.

The fifth and final installment in a Journal Pioneer series profiling this year’s inductees features Butler, who will be honoured under the “Curler” category.

Butler began curling at the Charlottetown Curling Club at an early age, and it wasn’t long and he was competing for provincial championships.

Overall, Butler has been a member of rinks that have won 15 provincial titles – one junior men’s, six provincial men’s and eight mixed.

In 1984, Butler won the P.E.I. junior men’s curling championship at third stone with skip Alan Brown, second Mike Dillon and lead Phillip Gorveatt.

Butler won his first P.E.I. men’s championship in 1991 as lead for skip Robert Campbell, third stone Peter Gallant and second Mark O’Rourke.

Butler won again with the same lineup in 1993, 1995, 1997 and 1999.

His last win was in 2001 as lead for skip Peter MacDonald, third Gallant, and second O’Rourke.

All eight of Butler’s P.E.I. mixed championships were won playing second stone with skip John Likely and third stone Susan McInnis. Gail MacNeil, Nancy Cameron and Krista Cameron shared the lead positions on those rinks.