Moosomin needs votes for Rider contest
August 27, 2013, 1:58 am
Kevin Weedmark
Moosomin rec director Mike Schwean has done the hard part.
He put in a lot of time to put together a package that got Moosomin selected as one of eight finalists for the Richardson Pioneer Rider Nation Community Celebration.
Now he needs everyone to take half a minute each day and vote for Moosomin at 101greycupfestival.ca/vote
Internet voting will determine the winners.
The community with the most votes will win $50,000 for community recreation projects, and the next two communities will win $25,000 each.
All three top communities will also get to host a $10,000 game day party in advance of the Grey Cup.
Schwean decided to enter Moosomin in the contest because he saw it as a way to raise the money to complete improvements at Bradley Park.
“There’s some stuff to finish at the park,” he says. “If we win the full $50,000, we would irrigate the football field and soccer field, and we would put some lighting in the parking lot of the Communiplex, so we would be able to finish everything we wanted to do out there. $50,000 would be amazing. If we won the $25,000 we would be able to do a lot, too.”
Schwean says he was thrilled to find out Moosomin was one of eight finalists for the celebration.
“Three out of eight towns win a lot of money, so I think our chances are pretty good, and the Grey Cup party would be great, too,” he said.
He’s urging people to vote every day at 101greycupfestival.ca/vote and he feels Moosomin will have a lot of support from a lot of people, not only from within the community.
“I think we’ll have all those Rider alumni who come out to the golf tournament supporting us,” he said. “I’ve had some of the Rider alumni say they’re voting for us.”
At the same time, Schwean is setting up a Rider Fan Club in Moosomin, which will help organize the game day party if Moosomin gets one.
Rider legend George Reed has agreed to serve as honorary chairman of the new club.
“I just started signing people up this week, and the fan Club has 75 people already,” Schwean says. “We have lots of plans already—a lot of game day parties, maybe a bus trip a year.”
Schwean is urging people to vote every day until Sept. 11, when voting wraps up.
“I think if people vote every day we can win,” he said. “The important thing is for people to remember to vote every day.”
Schwean said people seem to be excited about the chance for Moosomin to win $50,000. “I’m getting lots of emails, lots of people saying they’re supporting us and giving us ideas. I think a lot of people are behind the contest. A lot of people are excited to see the party.
“We’ve been emailing, using facebook, tweets, signage, and word of mouth. We’re relying on people to let their friends know—we’re hoping anyone with a connection with Moosomin will help us out with this.”
One simple way people can help spread the word is to “like” the World-Spectator’s facebook page. That allows notifications to reach everyone on your friends list.
