This Place Matters contest

Sydney Mines finishes third in voting.

The Sydney Mines Tourism Development Society says being part of the Natural Trust for Canada This Place Matters contest was a learning experience.

The group entered the Chapel Point Battery location in the online crowd funding and awareness campaign in mid-June. The contest wrapped up on Thursday and the winners were announced on Monday.

The Sydney Mines project finished third in the eastern region, behind projects in Truro and Port Union, N.L.

Truro led the overall national contest for the majority of the event and later captured the top prize of $60,000. Because a project can only win once, the Port Union and Sydney Mines projects were neck-and-neck throughout the final week, both gunning for the regional prize of $30,000.

In the end, Port Union won the regional prize collecting 18,067 votes, followed by Sydney Mines with 15,811.

Brian Ferguson, vice-chair and planning director for the Sydney Mines Tourism Development Society, said although the project didn’t win, the group considers the contest a positive experience.

“We weren’t planning on relying on this type of funding in our project plan, so when it came along we took the opportunity to compete,” said Ferguson. “We certainly increased the awareness of the project and a lot of people are extremely optimistic about getting this project done for the area.

“The contest helped us learn a little bit about how we have to communicate to gain attention about the project,” he said.

Despite the loss, the project was able to raise $13,751 through online contributions.

“We are quite pleased with

that because it gives us a bit of a cushion in terms of our operating expenses for the year, of course we will manage this money very carefully,” said Ferguson.

On July 14, days before the competition was expected to end on July 17, the contest was shutdown after the National Trust for Canada found technical difficulties with its voting website. The contest was extended until July 20.

At the time the website was shutdown, the Sydney Mines project was leading Port Union in votes, however Ferguson doesn’t blame the extension for the loss.

Ferguson said the group would like to extend its appreciation for those who took the time to vote for the group throughout the month contest.