No matter what happens the rest of the way, every resident of Osoyoos and area who got involved in the Kraft Hockeyville 2012 contest deserves a loud round of applause for a job well done.
This wildly-popular national contest named its top 15 communities this past Saturday night and Osoyoos was the last town named as the finalists were announced from the east coast to the west coast.
There’s no doubt hundreds of local residents let out a loud cheer for this amazing accomplishment.
Congratulations are in order to local hockey fanatic Cathy Martins, who did a tremendous job rallying support for the contest dating back almost two months now.
Martins got the ball rolling, but hundreds of local residents gladly joined the fun and did their small part to ensure Osoyoos would become a national finalist and shine a bright light on this wonderful community on the national stage.
Mayor Stu Wells ended Monday’s regular meeting of council saying he has no doubt Osoyoos will make the top five communities when they are announced during Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, March 17.
That would be simply amazing as each of the five finalists will have crews from Hockey Night in Canada in their respective hometowns when the Kraft Hockeyville 2012 winner is announced during a live broadcast the evening of March 31.
Towns the size of Osoyoos have been victorious in the Kraft Hockeyville contest in past years and there’s no reason to believe our community won’t make the top five and perhaps win it all.
The passion for the game of hockey and community pride shown by so many has been truly inspiring over these past few weeks.
The amount of community spirit that has skyrocketed since this wild ride began several weeks ago has been amazing to see.
Everyone from school children to seniors have jumped on the bandwagon and got involved by casting votes and showing support during the Hockeyville contest.
The Sonora Centre was kept open for 12 hours on Tuesday so local residents could make one final push as voting to advance to the top five officially closed at 9 p.m..
Here’s hoping all the hard work pays off and Osoyoos is indeed still in the running for the Kraft Hockeyville title once the top five communities are announced 10 days from now.
Until the top five finalists are announced, it’s wonderful to think little Osoyoos remains in the running to win it all and claim the top prize of $100,000 in arena upgrades to the Sun Bowl Arena and the right to host an NHL pre-season contest. The bottom line is, we deserve it.