A little goodwill can often go a long way and, in at least one case, it tastes pretty darn good at the same time.
photo courtesy Chadd Burrill
Terence Tootoo Memorial (TTM) senior men’s hockey championship committee members Troy Aksalnik and Hamish Tatty were at the hamlet garage in Rankin Inlet watching a couple of recreation workers preparing tools to take out the ice surface at the new Rankin arena on March 24.
Aksalnik and Tatty had been lamenting the fact the TTM would have been starting the very next day if not for COVID-19 and the precautions put in place to slow its spread.
Aksalnik said the TTM committee always gives back to the community during the tournament, so what was to stop them from coming up with a kind gesture for some families in the community, even though they weren’t going ahead with the event this year.
“We came up with the idea of the pizzas and then we, kind of, asked around a bit to find out which families should get one, or maybe two, depending on the size of the family,” said Aksalnik.
“So we ended up ordering 22 large pizzas from Chadd Burrill at the Slapshot Canteen at a cost of about $950, and then we distributed them to 18 families who may not get to enjoy something like that all the time.
“They went to single moms and dads, families with lots of kids, and people in need. ”
The TTM committee helps out with a number of things in the community throughout the year.
Aksalnik said the committee tries to give out $10,000 a year, with the majority of that going towards the community’s minor hockey program.
He said in that regard, it’s all about helping to create opportunities for Rankin’s minor hockey players, and they also make sure they do what they can to help out in other areas of the community, such as the local food bank.
“I delivered all 22 of the pizzas to the families and it only took me about 25 minutes.
“Chadd (Burrill) can cook about eight pizzas at a time there, so I delivered six at a time and each time I came back there were six more ready to go.
“Someone else, who wished to remain anonymous, bought 13 pizzas to distribute the same way earlier in the week.
“I didn’t give (Burrill) too much notice about the pizzas, but I figured if he could do 13, then he could handle 22.”