It was a true sense of community pride Wednesday during Hometown Proud celebrations in Dryden.
The successful day was capped off with a sold-out fundraising dinner at the Agricultural Society.
The event was hosted by long time hockey coach and school official Jack McMaster and featured speeches from Chris and Sean Pronger and Bruce Ramsay.
All of the speakers shared stories and laughs, and talked about some of the great names that have laced up the skates at the Arena and outdoors in Dryden.
Sean notes a lot of people probably aren’t aware of the hockey talent Dryden has showcased and continues to offer.
Chris and Sean stressed that upgrading the Memorial Arena is essential as it gives area youth a place to go to stay active, enjoy sports and gain new friendships.
Chris says it’s all about the kids and giving them an opportunity to gain a love of hockey.
He adds it’s now up to the community to rally and help fix the facility.
All three speakers expressed their gratitude to speak at the event, noting they were proud to return home to support an important cause.
Ramsay says the evening brought back some great memories, adding Dryden is a great, tight-knit community with a lot of pride.
Final fundraising totals from Wednesday aren’t yet known, but the thermometer at the Arena will likely rise considerably.
The organizers of the day are calling the event an overwhelming success.
Marnie Oliphant is with the Dryden Recreation Extension and Modification Committee and she says the highlight for her was the speeches.
She says all of the stories focused on playing hockey at a young age in Dryden and not on their professional careers.
Oliphant and Janice Radburn stated they are excited about the future as the Hometown Day showed that Dryden is onboard with the project.
They expect the momentum to continue and are thanking the community and volunteers for their support.
To hear from Chris and Sean Pronger, Bruce Ramsay and Marnie Oliphant and Janice Radburn, visit the Audio link below.
Chris Pronger addresses a sold out crowd at the DREAM fundraising dinner to upgrade Memorial Arena pic.twitter.com/wK3knFiFRG
— @ckdrnews (@ckdrnews) July 27, 2017
