Co-operative Effort
Impassioned basketball fan Troy Soontiens hopes more children in Metro Moncton will soon play the sport and support the Moncton Motion. Soontiens has owned and operated the Co-operators Agency at 1633 Mountain Road in Moncton’s north end for 15 years.
He’s also a sponsor for the Motion, which will begin play in the new Eastern Canadian Basketball League in late March.
“I really enjoy the sport of basketball, and by supporting the League, I hope to continue to see the accelerated growth of the sports, and more children from our community getting involved,” Soontiens explains. His 13 year-old son Connor has been playing basketball for eight years. His wife is the team manager, “which automatically makes me her assistant,” Soontiens jokes.
His daughter and Connor’s grandparents have also been supportive by volunteering their time to keep score, run the clock and assist at tournaments and other team events, “I hope to see great support from the community and see a growing number of people going out and attending (Motion) games,” Soontiens says. “I hope to see more sponsorship coming from out local businesses to help grow and sustain the Eastern Canadian Basketball League.”
Soontiens has a staff of five employees and will be looking to add another sometime this year. “As a leading Canadian financial services co-operative, Co-operators offers multi-line insurance and investment products, services, and advice to build financial strength and security.”
The Motion, Saint John Union, Bathurst Bears, Charlottetown Power, Summerside Slam, Truro Tide and Valley Vipers will begin regular season play in late March.
A schedule and the first player signings will be announced on or near February 1.
In 1984, Papa Johns Pizza started in the small town of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and its popularity has spread all the way to Atlantic Canada. Today, Papa Johns boasts over 3,600 restaurants and can be found in more than 35 international markets outside of the USA. In Atlantic Canada, we opened our first Papa Johns franchise in Moncton, operating under the name of PJ Atlantic Restaurants Ltd. in 2009.
This was the first of many Papa Johns restaurants to be opening over the next few years to serve the Maritime provinces. We now have a dozen restaurants in the following areas:
639 Mountain Rd., Moncton
555 Dieppe Blvd., Dieppe
20 Plaza Ave., Saint John
528 Smythe St., Fredericton
133 McAllister Dr. Saint John
19 Babineau Ave., Charlottetown
1909 Mountain Rd., Moncton
269 Main St., Fredericton
94 Hampton Rd., Rothesay
540 Pinewood Rd., Riverview
961 Bedford Highway, Bedford
644 Portland St., Dartmouth
We believe in our brand’s heritage and commitment to quality. We believe that better ingredients really do make a better pizza.