RONA, Calgary Flames Foundation and NHLPA Give Back to Community

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - Oct. 6, 2011) -

Editors' Note: A photo is associated with this press release.

RONA inc. (TSX:RON)(TSX:RON.PR.A), the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, renovation and gardening products, in partnership with The Calgary Flames Foundation for Life and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) Goals & Dreams fund, revealed today to the mayor Nenshi and to the community, the newly refurbished Whitehorn Community Association Rink.

To mark the official unveiling of the facility, representative from both organizations were on hand including Calgary Flames Defenseman Jay Bowmeester and Forward David Moss, who is also representing the NHLPA. Community members and students from the surrounding three schools were treated to an autograph session from some of their favourite Flames.

"Together, RONA, the Calgary Flames Foundation and the NHLPA share a commitment to the promotion of important values like team spirit, social responsibility and determination. To show this in a tangible way, we teamed up and refurbished the outdoor rink, which is now completely renovated and ready for young people here in the region to enjoy," said Luc Rodier, RONA's Vice President, Retail for Western Canada. "Restoration of the outdoor rink at the Whitehorn Community Centre is in keeping with our goal to promote physical activity among young people. It's also a way of thanking the community for their loyalty and support."

"We have been blessed to have the support of Calgarians for over 30 years now and this is one of many ways we express our thanks." said Ken King, President and CEO of the Calgary Flames. "The Whitehorn community is a caring community that, like most communities, faces many challenges. The children who attend the surrounding schools or utilize the rink on the weekend derserve a clean and safe place to play year round." added King. "We want to thank not only the many organizations who joined us in this project but also the members of the community."

"The NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund is excited to partner on this project with the Calgary Flames Foundation and Rona. By rebuilding the Whitehorn Community Outdoor Rink and donating 75 complete sets of equipment to the surrounding schools, the members of the NHLPA are helping to provide deserving children with the opportunity to chase their dreams on the ice this winter," said Devin Smith, NHLPA Goals & Dreams Chairman.

The three surrounding schools—Colonel J. Fred Scott School, École St. Wilfrid School and Annie Gale School utilize the Whitehorn Community Association Rink year-round as part of their physical education curriculum. Thanks to the generosity of the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund, each school will receive 25 bags of hockey equipment. This gift was in addition to new hockey nets, player's benches and rubber mats donated by the group whose focus is helping kids get involved in the sport of hockey.

RONA and The Calgary Flames Foundation For Life invested over $60,000 to modernize and substantially upgrade the outdoor rink, which is located next to the Whitehorn Community Centre. RONA employees and members of The Calgary Flames devoted many hours working as volunteers to make the rink good as new, including laying new asphalt, upgrades to the lighting system, complete replacement of the rinkboards and painting the storage space for equipment.

In addition, Enmax generously funded the upgrade to an LED lighting system, which is both environmentally friendly and will reduce overall costs to the community association.

Completion of the renovations was also made possible by the expertise of the Vermilion Energy/YWCA Skills Training Centre, which helps equip women with the skills needed to become self-reliant and economically stable, and Home Court RONA's partnership with The Calgary Flames is a natural outcome of the company's longstanding commitment to sports at both amateur and professional levels in Canada. RONA is a national partner with Canada's Olympic and Paralympic teams for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games It is also a proud partner of the Calgary Stampeders, the Vancouver Canucks Hockey Club and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which notably includes the Toronto Maple Leafs.

RONA is the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products and operates a network of more than 950 corporate, franchise and affiliate stores of various sizes and formats. With close to 30,000 employees working under its family of banners in every region of Canada and more than 17 million square feet of retail space, the RONA store network generates over $6 billion in annual retail sales. Visit rona.ca.

The Flames Foundation for Life is the charitable arm of the Calgary Flames Hockey club. The Foundation is committed to supporting Education, Health and Wellness, and Amateur and Grassroots Sports and raises funds throughout the year for these key areas. From families facing the terminal illness of a child to student athletes, with your support, we are creating positive change and touching the lives of thousands.

In 1999, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) launched the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund as a way for the players to give something back to the game they love. Over the past 11 years, more than 60,000 deserving children in 25 countries have benefited from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams donations of full sets of hockey equipment; the players' program has also assisted with upgrades and the building of hundreds of arenas world-wide. To date, NHLPA Goals & Dreams has donated more than $20-million to grassroots hockey programs around the world making it the largest program of its kind. For more information on the NHLPA, please visit www.nhlpa.com.

The photo associated with this press release is available at the following address: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20111006-rona2B.JPG