Renous Wins $250,000 Kraft Hockeyville Title
Renous, New Brunswick, took home the grand prize on the weekend in the Kraft Hockeyville competition. The small town of less than 1,000 people won $250,000 in upgrades to the Tom Donovan Arena and will play host to an NHL exhibition game.
The victory came from a spirited campaign by residents and supporters to capture the votes needed to win the title, with support from NHL stars like the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand who played junior hockey in Moncton. Renous was competing against three other Canadian finalists in a competition that saw thousands of entries from across the country. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman delivered the news during last night’s Hockey Night In Canada broadcast.
The Renous campaign supporters rallied together in memory of Thomas Dunn, a Renous resident who died in 2018 in a dirt bike accident at age 14. An avid hockey player, today would have been his 15th birthday. His mother, Dawn Dunn, was a key supporter of the Renous bid.
The “Tom Donovan Arena, Renous, NB, Kraft Hockeyville In Memory of Thomas Dunn” Facebook page soared to nearly 13,000 members and saw words of encouragement and support from New Brunswickers and many others living around the world, inspired by the memory of Thomas Dunn.
Renous is the first New Brunswick community to win the Kraft Hockeyville title.