Cooke Aquaculture has contributed $50,000 to wards the new indoor rink on Grand Manan
The community had raised $60,000 toward its $110,000 goal and the Cooke donation has put the fundraising campaign over the top.”
It will take about $1.2 million to finish the rink, including an ice-making plant. The province has committed $400,000 and the village council is expected to approve a $300,000 contribution.
Charlotte-The Isles MLA and provincial Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet was on hand
The Grand Manan rink campaign started Feb. 2 with a $15,000 contribution from the Grand Manan Rotary Club. Admiral Fish Farms Ltd. on Grand Manan contributed $10,000, the first corporate donation to the project.
Pete Sesplankis, Executive Director of the Grand Manan Boys and Girls Club, said hundreds of islanders have been using the community centre and he said when the arena opens he expects the facility will be the hub of island life.
From left: Randy Brownlee, president of the Grand Manan arena committee, Mayor Dennis Greene, MLA and Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet, Pete Sesplankis, Executive Director of the Grand Manan Boys and Girls Club and Michael Cooke, co-owner of Cooke Aquaculture, celebrate the presentation of a $50,000 cheque from Cooke to the Grand Manan arena project.
