Great start

The call went out—and the community responded in resounding fashion.
When nominations for the 2014 Kraft “Hockeyville” competition closed at midnight Sunday, Fort Frances had garnered 265 members as well as 365 uploads of stories/photos in support of our bid.
That was well back of Sylvan Lake, Alta., which topped the West bracket with 1,939 members and 2,158 uploads, but our numbers and quality of submissions appear solid enough to crack the top eight and advance to the next round, which will be announced live March 8 during “Hockey Night in Canada.”
It’s a great start towards capturing the crown—and by far our best showing to date in this annual competition. But as Jonathan Glueheisen, who has spearheaded our “Hockeyville” aspirations the past few years, put it in his letter to the editor, the work is far from over.
Should Fort Frances be among the top eight in the West, we’ll advance to the first round of voting March 8-10, when a concerted effort will be needed to qualify as one of the two semi-finalists.
Those two then will square off in a head-to-head showdown March 15-17, with the top community from the East and West to meet in one final round of voting March 22-24 to determine the grand-prize winner.
The Fort Frances Curling Club did an excellent job in planning—and then marshalling—the online voting for last year’s “Kraft Celebration Tour.” Those behind the “Hockeyville” bid wisely have taken a cue from their success by holding a meeting this coming Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Sports Centre to co-ordinate the next step.
Winning $25,000 in arena upgrades is nice; $50,000 obviously is twice as good. But with $100,000 up for grabs, along with the coveted “Hockeyville” crown and the chance to host an NHL pre-season game, the stakes clearly warrant a well-organized push each step of the way.
We’ve done well in the first stage—and should be justly proud—but let’s not settle for that. Now it’s time to take it to the next level.