Ste. Anne Short on Votes in Kraft Hockeyville But Creates Community Unity

By Dan Guetre

You could feel the eyes of all Ste. Anne residents focused on the TV screen during the first intermission of the Toronto versus Ottawa NHL game as they awaited the announcement of the Kraft Hockeyville 2023 winner.

Conversely, you could hear the collective sigh from the community and many Manitobans when the Town of Ste. Anne was not the community name announced by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

It did not take long for many in the community to realize that what they had accomplished overshadowed what they had not accomplished.

“Passion and community is what I saw in this rally,” said Sarah Normandeau who jumped on board to ing to find solutions and do what is needed.

“About 6 weeks ago, out of desperation, we called a town hall meeting as our arena is in desperate need before next winter and the community responded by turning out in big numbers,” he reflected. “From this meeting, the GSA community had decided to form a Rec Steering committee so it was a great start. Suddenly, Kraft Hockeyville gained momentum and Greater Ste Anne went wild!”

The mayor believes the campaign has galvanized the community with a new purpose.

“What has taken place the past month and particularly the last 2 days has energized me like never before and it’s crystal clear I’m not alone in the want to fix this building!’ help with the campaign.

“When that announcement came in…yes it was disappointing and seeing our kids/teens and even some adults cry almost broke me… but we got this! I’ve never seen a community come together like this ever!”

“You always hear how a community comes together when needed and with my 51 years in Ste Anne I have never seen anything close to what this contest did for our community, greater Ste Anne (GSA),” noted Town of Ste. Anne Mayor in a post on the town’s social media page created to rally the community.

St. Vincent reflected on how fixing the arena seemed so daunting when he originally ran for council, but how now, he sees a community motivat- he wrote. “I’m a huge believer in that something good always comes from any event and I think this is the best thing that could have ever happened to our Greater Ste Anne community.”

The Town has a new Recreation Steering committee and has received a renewed interest from the rural municipality surrounding the town and now the momentum to find solutions.

“In a strange way, not winning may be a blessing in disguise,” he noted. “The

250K would have been outstanding, but the truth is we need way more than that to get done what we want to get done for our dear old arena and recreation in general.”

“Not winning will inspire us to work even harder now to get it done and I assure you I will pour every ounce of effort I can into this project and also guarantee you we will find what we need to open the arena next winter… it’s just not an option,” he added. For making the top four, the Maurice Chaput Arena in Ste. Anne will be awarded $25,000 from Kraft Hockeyville plus an additional $10,000 from the NHLPA towards equipment. The RM of Ste. Anne had already committed $75,000 towards repairs and funds were raised throughout the voting period through various raffles and events.