Those proceeds would be on top of the $100,000 cheque that Getson and the rest of the O’Leary Kraft Hockeyville Committee accepted on behalf of the sports centre during Monday’s NHL exhibition game in Summerside.
Asked to sum up the Hockeyville experience, Getson said the committee is finding it hard to put it all into words.
“You hear people say ‘surreal’ and stuff like that.”
Getson was back at his day job Wednesday after taking Tuesday off to unwind from the whirlwind of the Winning Weekend celebration. He admitted it felt strange to be at home and not have a three-page “to-do” list.
“You think, ‘Did that just happen?’ The whole celebration weekend, the game, it’s been incredible.”
The committee’s journey commenced in early February when it submitted its nomination for the Kraft Hockeyville 2017 competition. O’Leary advanced to the Top 10 out of nearly 3,000 nominations, then to the Top 2 and on April 1, it was declared the winner of the national competition – and the winner of $100,000 and the NHL game.
Nearly six months of preparations brought the committee and lucky spectators to the Hockeyville finale, Monday’s Kraft Hockeyville NHL exhibition game.
“It was a pretty special experience to be in an NHL game on P.E.I. and it was like you were in with your neighbours, family, friends,” he said. “Lots of smiles.”
But he admitted getting there involved a lot of work, which was both fun and challenging.
“I don’t think any one of us signed on and knew what we were getting into.”
They certainly didn’t do it alone, he stressed.
“I’ve never been part of anything where we’ve had people contacting us to see if we needed anything,” he acknowledged. “Volunteers was always one-ask, one phone call. The support we received that way was out of this world.”
The committee still has some wrap-up work to complete, like tallying up proceeds and checking with the rink staff and board of directors about renovation plans.
Two committee members, Getson and Della Sweet, are also members of the facility’s renovation committee.
Getson said that committee has obtained funding through the Central Development Corporation to hire a consultant to prepare for the renovations. The deadline for that work was September but, because of all the focus on Hockeyville, it has been extended until December.
The rink committee is hoping to leverage the prize money and the winning weekend proceeds to obtain federal, provincial and municipal funding so that more extensive work can be carried out. Initial conversations have already been held, he said.
Getson acknowledges Hockeyville has been a truly amazing experience for O’Leary and for P.E.I. and a great opportunity to showcase the province.
“I just don’t know if you can place a dollar amount on the exposure that O’Leary and West Prince have gotten though this whole thing,” he said.