If all goes well over the next few weeks, Joanne Weedmark just might bring some big money to Kinngait.

Weedmark, the communitySA国际影视传媒檚 acting director of recreation, is one of nine finalists from around Canada that are in the running to be named the winner of The Next Stride. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 a competition being run by the Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association (CARHA) and whoever wins the competition will earn a $10,000 donation for their community.

All Weedmark needs is your vote.

The competition is being run under CARHASA国际影视传媒檚 #HockeyVacciNation campaign, which is designed to promote people doing good things in their communities, no matter if itSA国际影视传媒檚 related to hockey or not. Nominations were accepted from June through August with three people or groups chosen in each month, known as the Three Stars. Each selected nominee won $500 for their community and moved on to the finals.

Weedmark was nominated by Elizabeth Katcheea, the now-former manager of KinngaitSA国际影视传媒檚 arena and youth centre.

In her nomination, Katcheea said Weedmark has shown incredible leadership and commitment to bettering her community through her new position.

SA国际影视传媒淪he is doing an amazing job running the recreation department, going above and beyond trying do more for her community and I am extremely proud of her,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

As for the nomination itself, Weedmark said she was stunned when she was notified.

SA国际影视传媒淚 couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 believe it, I was so happy,SA国际影视传媒� she said.SA国际影视传媒滻 never looked into it too much before that but then the community received the donation.SA国际影视传媒�

Weedmark said she put her prize toward buying healthy food and snacks for youth that visit the communitySA国际影视传媒檚 youth centre.

SA国际影视传媒淲e made some homemade beef stew for the kids and they loved it,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭he money was gone in less than a week.SA国际影视传媒�

One of the big reasons Weedmark was nominated was due to her work on the communitySA国际影视传媒檚 radio station during the four-week lockdown back in April and May.

Weedmark said she was looking for a way to try and keep the community connected and upbeat while almost everything was shut down.

SA国际影视传媒淚 looked around to see what I could do,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 heard that Arviat had done radio games and I read some things on Facebook about it and the people there had a lot of fun. I thought I could do the same thing here so I got the ideas from what Arviat did and the community really encouraged me to do it.SA国际影视传媒�

The radio station was on for 11 hours per day during the shutdown with seven hours dedicated to the games, she added, while the weekends were set aside for clergy in the community to speak to residents in both English and Inuktitut.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have three churches here and they were closed also,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淚 asked if they wanted to read verses on the air because a lot of people here couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 go to church. It was very popular and people just needed to hear some positive words.SA国际影视传媒�

The radio games paid out prizes for youth in the community as 11 bicycles were given out over the course of the four weeks.

Sport 4 Life helped out with funding to get the bikes and Weedmark said they were very well-received.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of youth here donSA国际影视传媒檛 have bikes and those who do use bikes as transportation to get around town,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

If Weedmark is chosen as the winner, she would like to see the $10,000 go toward purchasing much-needed hockey equipment for youth in the community as well as buying more healthy food items to ensure people eat as well as they can.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of kids here donSA国际影视传媒檛 have the equipment to play hockey and a lot of them donSA国际影视传媒檛 get to play hockey at all,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淭hey have no chance to play so I want to get more equipment so the kids can play. I also would like to get some more food, especially for baking. we have baking nights once a week but we donSA国际影视传媒檛 always have the supplies on hand. Food security is such a big issue here, especially in the last few months, and we donSA国际影视传媒檛 have a food bank in the community.SA国际影视传媒�

Voting began on Sept. 6 and will run until Sept. 24. You can cast your vote by going to the competition website SA国际影视传媒� thenextstride.ca/vote SA国际影视传媒� but you only get one vote per e-mail address.