We Are Renous
For most days in rural New Brunswick, the biggest hockey news is the local Pee-Wee team winning provincials. For the towns Blackville and Renous, their news is now national as they are one of four winners of Kraft Hockeyville.
They will receive $25,000 for rink upgrades while the $250,000 grand prize will be announced later this month. The grand prize includes an NHL game played in their updated rink.
A camera crew from Sportsnet went to Tom Donavan Arena to shoot a promo for Blackville’s campaign. People from all over the Miramichi River gathered to Renous in their finest jerseys to show support.
Blackville’s campaign was centered by tragedy and a community united. The campaign’s been in honor of local athlete, Thomas Dunn who died in a dirt biking accident last year. Thomas was just 14.
Since the accident, Blackville has come together in the face of adversity to honor Thomas in this campaign. Aaron Dunn, is seeing this campaign of unity firsthand.
“I just can’t get over how much people have come together and help everybody out. It’s great to see,” said Aaron Dunn, a UNB business student and older brother of Thomas.
Like other towns nominated, the promo was shot around the good old hockey game. Local coaches and Blackville high school players hosted skill camps for the kids. Afterwards was a riverside showdown as the Miramichi Bantam Wild played the host, Renous Renegades.
After the game., everyone left the cold rink to the freezing outdoors for one last shot. Sportsnet broke out a drone for an overhead shot of the entire community, screaming “We are Renous!”
As the contest continues, all of the promos are online are getting shared all over social media. With towns campaigning all over Canada, Dunn believed they were contending the moment Sportsnet was sent to the middle of nowhere.
“I personally think they wouldn’t bother sending people up here if we weren’t going to be in the top four already,” he said.
