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TSN hosts Jennifer Hedger and Darren Dutchysen broadcast live from the banks of the Slave River in Fort Smith Aug. 16. It was the first stop on the 12-day 2013 Kraft Celebration Tour and the furthest North the annual tour has ever been. - Sarah Ladik/NNSL photo

THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
While it may have been pouring only a few hours earlier, the skies cleared and the weather warmed up for the live broadcast of The Sports Network and Kraft Celebration Tour's first stop in Fort Smith Aug. 16.

"This is really proof of Fort Smith's no-quit attitude," said Mayor Brad Brake. "We've got ponds from all the rain, and people - lots of people - are still coming out for this."

Fort Smith beat out Whitehorse with a vote of 253,000 to a meagre 35,000 to win $25,000 from Kraft. The money will go toward the purchase of a portable dressing room unit for skaters and hockey players.

A fire at the Fort Smith Centennial Arena in May closed the facility. The hopes are, with access to heated dressing rooms, community members will be able to use a temporary rink and get back on the ice this coming season.

This year was the fifth Kraft Celebration Tour and Fort Smith was the farthest North it had ever been.

Part of the event was a live broadcast of TSN's popular SportsCentre program with hosts Jennifer Hedger and Darren Dutchysen, and although the schedule had to be modified as a result of the afternoon's downpour, the program went off without a hitch.

"It turned out to be a picture-perfect day," said Hedger.

Kraft Canada representative Sue Brookes said she could feel the hometown pride in Fort Smith and was amazed at how receptive people were.

"It was everything I was expecting and more," she said of the event.

The whole process began months ago, soon after Fort Smith's arena was damaged by fire.

Brake explained how a group of arena users came together to look for solutions for the upcoming season for figure skating, speed skating, and - of course - hockey.

"I just wrote a letter," said organizer Pam Walsh incredulously.

But according to Brake, even though she was reluctant to admit it, Walsh did far more than that. She was responsible for putting forward the nomination essay that got Fort Smith into the top 20 finalists across the country, pitting the community against Whitehorse for the prize.

"I don't know, maybe Whitehorse just wasn't able to bring all their people together like we did," she said.

"We really connected. We had votes coming in from New Zealand, Finland, and Saudi Arabia and it's just been a whirlwind since then."

Walsh said although her name was on the nomination, it could not have been achieved without the support of the local arena users groups and organizing committee.

"We've had volunteers representing all the groups in town. We've been working for a month to pull this together," she told News/North while simultaneously texting said volunteers, trying to gather them for the cheque presentation.

Brake and Walsh agreed the social media campaign during the 24-hour voting window was key to getting the votes needed to win the money.

"We asked the college if we could use their computer lab and MACA (Municipal and Community Affairs) lent us one of their portable classrooms for the day," said Brake. "We had them running 24 hours."

But beyond the glitz and glamour of a live national television broadcast, Brake said the most touching part of the day was seeing the community pull together.

"It warmed my heart to see this community come together like this," he said. "It's just an awesome opportunity for the town of Fort Smith, and even to put this (event) on, everyone chipped in what they could."

While Northwestern Air Lease (NWAL) donated some flights for the celebration, it was really the residents' volunteerism and efforts that made not only the campaign, but also the broadcast event, a success.

"You can really see the spirit of co-operation," said Brake. "I think this town really needed to come together at this juncture, and we have."

As for the upcoming arena season, Walsh was cautiously optimistic.

"$25,000 isn't going to fix all our problems," she said. "Even if we have to bring in temporary lighting and heating solutions, I think - I hope - the arena will be open this fall and we'll be able to use the ice surface."

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