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Cycle North helps community associations with snowblowers

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Dustin Lloyd of Cycle North presents one of three snowblowers the business is donating to local community associations to Heather Bromley of the West Bowl Community Association. Bill Phillips photo
Dustin Lloyd of Cycle North presents one of three snowblowers the business is donating to local community associations to Heather Bromley of the West Bowl Community Association. Bill Phillips photo

BY BILL PHILLIPS

bill@pgdailynews.ca

If you watched the Canada/U.S. game during the World Junior hockey championships you got a good example of how challenging a snowstorm can be at at outdoor skating rink.

However, it’s nothing new to the hundreds of people who use any one of 20 outdoor rinks in the city. Yes, there are 20 of them and they are run by local community associations. It’s a constant battle to keep the rinks clear of snow and community association rink captains are usually the ones tasked with ensuring the rinks are clear of snow.

The rink at the end of Fairburn, just off Foothills Boulevard as you head up the Hart, is visible from the road. It’s  road that Dustin Lloyd of Cycle North drives every day. He would drive by and often see people out with snow shovels clearing the ice so they could go for a skate or play a game of shinny. He thought there has to be something Cycle North could do to help and help they did.

On Friday, Cycle North donated three snowblowers to three local community associations.

“It’s awesome,” said Heather Bromley of the West Bowl Community Association. “The rink captains come out here and flood and they shovel the rinks in -20 weather, so it’s a huge advantage for them.”

Lloyd said many of their friends, family, employees and customers live in these neighbourhoods and without the community associations and their volunteers these rinks wouldn’t exist.

“This donation allows the volunteers who have to shovel the rinks a less back breaking, faster way to get on the ice faster to enjoy what really matters, time with friends and family,” he said. “Honda builds such amazing product that these blowers will probably still be around when the kids who are using the rinks now have kids of their own.”
Cycle North is a Prince George-based family-owned business and Lloyd said they are proud to help out local charities and associations such as this.
“Without the support of our employees and amazing customers who choose to shop and buy locally we wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing today,” he said. “Thanks again everyone,  hopefully it warms up a bit so that the associations can put these to good use.”
The three snowblowers will be spread around the community with one staying at the Fairburn rink, one up in the Hart, and one at Duchess Park.

AUTHOR

Bill Phillips
Bill Phillips is an award-winning journalist and columnist with more than 30 years experience. He was the winner of the 2009 Best Editorial award at the British Columbia/Yukon Community Newspaper Association’s Ma Murray awards, in 2007 he won the association’s Best Columnist award. In 2004, he placed third in the Canadian Community Newspaper best columnist category and, in 2003, placed second. He is the former editor of the Prince George Free Press.

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