Cranbrook, BC – This past weekend the East Kootenay Foundation for Health hosted a special Kootenay ICE “Sam Reinhart Bobble Head Night” as a way to show the community its gratitude for the continued outpouring of support to EKFH and its many different ICE fundraisers over the past decade.
With only 950 officially autographed Reinhart bobble heads available (yes, Sam took over 5 hours to complete the task), it made them a coveted item. Eager fans came out in numbers and lined up early to get their chance to take one home.
When the foundation and volunteers arrived to get everything in place a line had already started at 4:00 pm and yet it would be another 2 hours before the bobble heads would be handed out. By just after 7:00 pm the full complement of bobble heads was gone.
“It was incredibly difficult for our volunteers to have to turn away several fans who weren’t able to secure a bobble head,” explains EKFH’s Chair Brian Clifford. “As much as EKFH wished it could have given one to each and every person, it just wasn’t possible,” adds Clifford.
Just watching the smiles on the faces of those who did get a piece of ICE history was entertaining as young children skipped through the lobby with a box in their arms, and you could witness the gentle smiles of many fans who have been there from the hockey club’s beginning. One of the most enjoyable moments was to see and hear squeals of delight as those who thought they were out of luck receiving their Sam original.
But the most incredible result of the evening is the unrivalled generosity of fans that made an additional $750 in donations to EKFH bringing the total of the Sam Reinhart “Shoot for the Star” fundraiser to $6,063.63. The bobble head night was the last official event of the 2013 Starlite Campaign. The campaign officially closes with a final fundraising tally of $131,440.40.
EKFH wishes to recognize the assistance from members of the board and our volunteers ~ Brian & Trudy Clifford, Don MacMillan, Mark Dickson, Russ & Joy Colombo and Fran Lawrenow; from the Kootenay ICE Fan Club ~ President Carolin Hockley and volunteers Gary Cook & Merv Anderson; plus representatives from the Knights of Columbus #8631 ~ Rick Hoeg, Don Sharp, Paul Gaudet & Ken Bettin and Tiffany Johnson from the Kootenay ICE as well as many of their volunteers (ushers, security, staff members - so many that we may miss a name).
Thank you as well to the Shivers & Coyote Jack’s outlets and the City of Cranbrook for their patience when the lobby swelled up to overflowing. EKFH and the Kootenay ICE sincerely appreciated your understanding.
Most importantly, thank you to Sam Reinhart for allowing EKFH to utilize his persona. And to Sam and his teammates for making Saturday night’s game a winner. EKFH wishes continued success to both the team and Sam on future endeavours.