Vermilion Minor Hockey Association Donates $15,000 to Vermilion’s ice facility

The Vermilion Minor Hockey Association (VMHA) made a donation of $15,000 to the Ice Plant recently.

Mayor Throndson, Councillor Whitlock, and Councillor Conlon from the Town of Vermilion enjoyed the Hockey Gala Night this past Saturday, April 16, when the donation was made official.

“The money will be put towards the upgrade to our community ice plant. Like most small towns on the prairies, the two ice rinks and curling rink is the hub in our community and the loss of it would have been detrimental to our citizens and businesses,” said Kevin Martin Vermilion Rink Facility Enhancement Board.

The money donated by the VMHA was raised through various fundraisers within the association.

“We had planned to make a donation pre-COVID but as hockey was shut down abruptly in 2020 then again in 2021, we had to ensure the financial health of the association through those crazy times,” Shaun Cadrain, President of the VMHA said. “Now that things are settled down we were able to finally contribute to the new ice plant. The Town of Vermilion treats VMHA so great that when the donation was originally discussed there was not one vote of no.”

For a town of this size to have two ice surfaces and now a new plant to ensure those surfaces can be run as efficiently as possible is very important to VMHA, Cadrain added.

This year was 50 years of being in existence for VMHA and now that we have this new ice plant they can hopefully look forward to being a part of the community for another 50.

In May of 2021, the Vermilion Curling Club secured a parcel of land for the 2021 cropping season to continue to raise funds for the ice plant improvement.

Dean Jacula and Shawn Jacula provided the use of 70 acres of cultivated land for the initiative of raising funds for Vermilion’s ice facility.

In September of 2021, the wheat in Vermilion to Grow the Ice Plant was harvested.

A true community effort to support such a valuable piece of equipment.