INNISFAIL – Heather Taylor could hardly contain herself on her agency’s good fortune.
The 1st Annual Battle of the Badges Charity Hockey Game on Jan. 6 raised $6,038 and 1,487 pounds of food for the Innisfail and District Food Bank; an event put together by the Innisfail RCMP, Innisfail Fire Department and a hastily assembled team of volunteers in less than five weeks.
“Wow. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” said Taylor, the co-coordinator of the food bank. “Unbelievable. It fills our shelves up again. The money going forward will get us through that much longer this year. It's just absolutely fabulous.”
Taylor said she never expected the charity hockey game to be so successful with its unprecedented public support, not only for the event but also for her agency.
“We did not expect that at all. It's just phenomenal. In fact, the organizer I talked to said she was just blown away,” said Taylor.
She added a portion of the funds will go towards purchasing perishable food items that can be stored in the agency’s new commercial refrigerator that was recently purchased for $4,500 through donations, including $1,300 from the Town of Innisfail.
“Now we have the money to fill that fridge with snacks and lunch things for the kids to go to school, which is totally awesome,” said Taylor.
The charity hockey game on Jan. 6 produced a packed house at the Innisfail Twin Arena of more than 1,000 spectators who were admitted free of charge but were asked to bring a donation, either an item or cash, for the food bank.
Innisfail RCMP Const. Craig Nelson and Rhonda Turnquist, administrative assistant for the town’s fire and protective services, were the lead organizers for the event.
Nelson said the idea for the event, believed to be the first ever for the town, came from an organized gathering a year ago with RCMP officers and firefighters entertaining kids at a local outdoor rink.
“We had a couple of kids come out. We had a great time. We cooked some marshmallows,” said Nelson. “And then, just before the Charity Check Stop, maybe early December or late November, we were contacted by the fire department saying, ‘hey, we should do an event like that again, except let's do it RCMP versus firefighters.”
With less than five weeks to prepare after the Innisfail RCMP Charity Check Stop on Dec. 3, Nelson and Turnquist had their work cut out to get the game organized.
“We definitely didn't know what to expect for our first annual event. We thought it would be just family and friends and maybe a couple hundred people at most,” said Turnquist. “It was packed. I think for small events it takes a village and we had lots of volunteers step in at the last minute.
“We can't thank the community enough for the generous donations, and the support of our local firefighters and RCMP,” added Turnquist. “I think Innisfail has also always had that small town feeling, and I think it showed right there.”
And the hard work by Nelson and Turnquist was appreciated. Turnquist was presented with a bouquet of flowers at the hockey game, and there were special words of appreciation that came from Mayor Jean Barclay.
“They did such a fantastic job on pulling things together,” said Barclay. “To see the number of people that were there to support the food bank is a reflection of the respect this community has for their firefighters and for the RCMP.”
Both Nelson and Turnquist said planning is already underway for next year’s 2nd annual charity hockey game, including the creation of a committee.
Nelson said the game will likely be played in 2024 at about the same time as the inaugural event.
“I think it fits in nicely with the timing for the food bank to get their stocks reshelved and also a nice time because the holidays are just over,” said Nelson. “It is a fun event where you can take the family out and it's not super expensive.”
