While most of the committee members were busy casting votes online for their community’s bid to become Kraft Hockeyville 2017, Jo-Anne Wallace was maintaining a vigil on social media.
“Just to keep that momentum,” she explained. Wallace spent the day reminding anyone she could reach to vote and keep voting.
O’Leary Recreation Director Jeff Ellsworth said
he was managing to cast about seven votes a minute.
Indeed, during one timed minute, six people on computers and tablets at the
O’Leary Legion collectively cast 24 votes for O’Leary.
“We’ve got to keep the excitement going, and we also have to tell stories about people voting and the fun they’re having with it,” Wallace said of the role she is playing.
Bill MacKendrick was one of the committee members stationed at the Future Tech West computer lab and suggested he’d stay as late as anyone was there and voting. He suspected, though, he’d call it a night around 1 or 2 a.m. so that he could be back for the final push. Voting opened across the country at 10 a.m. (Atlantic) and was staying open for 39 hours straight.
Of course, supporters could vote from home or anywhere they have internet access and MacKendrick was confident most supporters were doing that.
“We’re getting good Charlottetown and Summerside support, and down east is terrific; a lot of (comments) are coming in from there,” he said in sharing Wallace’s feedback.
He noted one person had shared on social media that he and his wife voted 1,500 times and would get back to it once they had dinner.
MacKendrick and Wallace said O’Leary is gaining widespread support for its cause across the Maritimes. O’Leary is the only Maritime community in the running this year.
Several large corporations were also onside, MacKendrick said, noting they sent out messages to their employees urging support for O’Leary.
There were also posters sharing their voting experiences. “I am not a robot..I am not a robot..wonder what I will dream about tonight..it will be worth it” Maureen Chaisson shared. As a contest condition, voters had to click that box every time. They also had to click specific boxes on their screens to confirm their humanity.
Alvin Smith was managing four to five votes a minute and was happy to contribute to the cause: “To help the community and help the rink,” Smith commented. “It’s good for the rink, for everybody to get out and support it and try to push this thing through for them.
“I think everybody is pretty excited about it; pretty proud the community is in the top 10, and trying to get them through to the end.”
“I think it is quite a thing for a small community like O’Leary,” said Carol Livingstone as she participated in a pancake breakfast the Town of O’Leary hosted at the legion as a kick-off to voting. “It’s quite a thing for having gotten this far.”
“It must be something unreal the amount of work that went into this,” marvelled her husband, Wayne. “It would mean an awful lot for me for the rink.”
Having gotten to the Top 10 in Canada has earned O’Leary $25,000 in arena upgrades. Advancing as the top vote-getter in eastern Canada would give O’Leary $100,000 for the arena, and put O’Leary on a course to become Hockeyville.
Wallace noted there are extra stations being set up for voting on Monday, including an opportunity for people without internet technology skills to stop by the O’Leary Christian Education Centre to get in on the voting. Various schools are also helping to build the momentum, she added.
