Key to their activities, says committee member Tammy Rix is to get Islanders and their friends from coast-to-coast primed to vote Sunday and Monday for O’Leary in the Kraft Hockeyville contest. O’Leary, P.E.I. was the only Maritime community to make the 2017 Hockeyville Top-10 list.
A panel of judges put O’Leary’s nomination through, but the power now shifts exclusively to voters to decide what community from eastern Canada will go head-to head with a community from western Canada for the overall title of Kraft Hockeyville.
Even before last Saturday’s Top-10 announcement, the O’Leary Hockeyville committee had opened an O’Leary Hockeyville Helpers group on Facebook and had around 600 members. Rix said the group had grown to 650 members by Sunday morning and then it just took off.
There were 8,500 members Tuesday morning and the number had surpassed 15,000 by mid afternoon.
O’Leary Recreation Director Jeff Ellsworth had posted Tuesday that the goal was to get the group to 20,000 by the end of the day and 50,000 by the end of the week.
“We’ve got some work cut out for us,” Rix acknowledged, but added, “I think we can do it. We’ve come this far.”
Rix was part of the committee when O’Leary entered the inaugural Kraft Hockeyville contest in 2006. O’Leary made it through to the final round but didn’t win. This time they’re going all out for the title. “When you reach this far, you just want to continue to go,” Rix said.
Fellow committee member Bill MacKendrick has estimated it will take between 1.5 and two million votes to carry O’Leary through to the final competition. Ellsworth has crunched the numbers on what that will mean if O’Leary Helpers grows to the projected 50,000 members. If all of the members voted 40 times during the 39 hours that voting is open, starting at 10 a.m. Sunday, that, he said, would account for two million votes. Estimating it takes 45 seconds to vote once, he suggests a supporter could easily get 50 votes cast in one hour.
For people who are unable to vote from home, Rix said there will be voting opportunities at the legion and curling club. The O’Leary Christian Education Centre and SOS Computer Solutions have also indicated people can stop by there to cast votes.
All of the congratulations and offers of support are encouraging, Rix said. “You feel good when you’re doing stuff like this, and people onboard, and the positivity from everything. It’s so good for the community and everything around; it brings out the best in people.”
Committee members are also encouraging Hockeyville Helpers to reach out to their family and friends away to encourage them to vote for O’Leary and committee members are teaching out to Home and Schools, corporations and sports personalities for support and shoutouts.
