For Immediate Release
July 25, 2015 (Estevan, SK) – The Saskatchewan Summer Games are being held in Estevan in 2016! The Estevan Host Committee, in partnership with SaskMusic, is proud to announce a brand new theme song to inspire the athletes and become a part of the lifelong memory that will accompany these events.
The call for songs went out in April, with a submission deadline of June 19, 2015. Nineteen Saskatchewan artists answered the call, with a total of twenty three songs being submitted for consideration. The entries were shortlisted to seven songs, and given to a jury of seven to vote.
“We brought together a group of seven people that had a vested interest in choosing the new song, such as the volunteer responsible for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, one of our Board of Directors Co-Chairs, as well as two people from the Saskatchewan Games Council. The most important juror in my mind, however, was an athlete from the 2014 Saskatchewan Winter Games. We felt that she brought the most important frame of reference; what would it feel like as an athlete to walk into Opening or Closing Ceremonies to this song. We were looking for a song that gave us goosebumps and this entry fit the bill,” explained Brenda Lyons, Co-Chair of the Games Marketing and Promotions Committee.
“We are thrilled to announce that the winner of the contest has a home grown slant to it,” announced Board of Director Co-Chair Brian Senchuk, “We know that the residents of southeastern Saskatchewan will be pleased to know that an Estevan-born resident has won the contest with his entry ‘The Spirit of the Games’. Our congratulations go out Luc Johner of The Johner Boys! We would also like to take this moment to thank SaskMusic for their support in facilitating this contest. For their contribution, they will be recognized with an ‘Energizer of the Games’ sponsorship package. Part of their contribution comes in the way of a $1,000 cash prize, which we will deliver to Luc Johner!”
“SaskMusic was pleased to partner with the Estevan 2016 SK Summer Games on the search for an engaging new theme song,” stated Lorena Kelly, Communications & Operations Manager for SaskMusic. “We had a ton of interest from the music community, and a great variety of wonderful compositions submitted from across the province. Congratulations to Luc on his winning entry. We look forward to hearing this song many times throughout the coming year!"
“To add the icing to the cake, we are excited to announce to the province that The Johner Boys will be in Estevan on July 24, 2016 and will be performing at the Opening Ceremonies. These negotiations had taken place prior to and separately from the decision of the theme song. With the Johners having a local tie, and being young, energetic performers, we felt they would give a performance worthy of Saskatchewan’s top athletes. It fits together perfectly,” said Senchuk.
The announcement of the theme song winner took place in during a week of celebrations marking one year to the Games Opening Ceremonies, which will take place July 24, 2016.
Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWkcFPb6i2U&feature=youtu.be
About Luc Johner:
Born in Estevan, SK, in 1994, 21 year old vocalist and pianist Luc Johner began his musical career at a young age. Joining forces with two of his four brothers, Jesse and Quinn, along with good friend Simon Jasieniuk, The Johner Boys were formed in 2011. Most of the time performing alongside their father, JUNO nominee and multiple Canadian Country Music Award winner, Brad Johner, they have played over 250 concerts across the province (extending into Alberta and Manitoba). They have been a part of the Telemiracle national cast for the last 3 year and have been on CTV and Global television several times. After releasing their first EP of covers in January 2014, Luc got to work writing an original album. Being half finished the recording process, they hope to have it released by the end of the year. This exciting new chapter is just around the corner and The Johner Boys are just getting their feet wet.
