Pizza and pop were on hand to fuel the cheers everyone was positively expecting when the announcement was made. But the announcement of who was advancing in the Kraft Hockeyville 2014 competition did not contain the name Castlegar despite the huge effort put forth by the local force led by the hyper energetic tandem of Castlegar city councillors Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff and Dan Rye.
Rye, on vacation in the tropics, would have got the news online, while Heaton-Sherstobitoff (second from right in accompanying photo) absorbed the message with a group of supporters in the Kootenay Room of the Castlegar Community Complex on Saturday night.
But the effort, and what it has spawned was well worth it, as Heaton-Sherstobitoff explained during the low-key aftermath.
"We were awesome," she said, "no matter what, win or lose, everything we did had a purpose. It's going to go on... on an annual basis." Two of the activities she referred to are the Smoke and Guns road hockey game between city council/fire department and RCMP with Castlegar Rebels helping out each squad... as well as fundraising occasions with the Rebels as well as the Selkirk College Saints.
"It was all positive," she concluded. "We had some really good community spirit."
Anyone wishing to vote can take organizers's recommendation and throw their support behind Sylvan Lake, AB. There is a connection between the two municipal councils and arrangements of mutual support had been made in the event of one not advancing, to support the other.