Redmond Physical Therapy claims title in Hopelink Can Madness

Redmond Physical Therapy is a Hopelink Can Madness veteran, participating every year since the tournament began in 2010. This year — for the first time — the local business is taking home the trophy. In the final round of the competition, Redmond Physical Therapy knocked out JJ Mahoney’s Irish Pub, bringing in 1,340 pounds of food and $101 in cash in the final week, ending April 4. JJ Mahoney’s won each of their first four brackets to make it to the final round, but finished second in the tournament with 716 pounds of food on April 4.

April 14, 2014 5:55 pm
Redmond Physical Therapy accepting the Hopelink Can Madness trophy at JJ Mahoney’s on April 4. Left to right: Robert Hime
Redmond Physical Therapy accepting the Hopelink Can Madness trophy at JJ Mahoney’s on April 4. Left to right: Robert Hime

Redmond Physical Therapy is a Hopelink Can Madness veteran, participating every year since the tournament began in 2010. This year — for the first time — the local business is taking home the trophy. In the final round of the competition, Redmond Physical Therapy knocked out JJ Mahoney’s Irish Pub, bringing in 1,340 pounds of food and $101 in cash in the final week, ending April 4. JJ Mahoney’s won each of their first four brackets to make it to the final round, but finished second in the tournament with 716 pounds of food on April 4.

During the five-week, single-elimination tournament, 32 businesses in Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue and Shoreline collected a total of 22,784 pounds of food and $2,994 cash.

Redmond Physical Therapy’s Ken Crinklaw said his team has been a proud participant in the event since Day One, and he has enjoyed watching the tournament grow over the years. And he is thrilled to see the trophy back in Redmond. Last year, Kirkland’s Guild Mortgage upset Hancock’s Bakery of Redmond in the final.

“We were so excited to make it to the final round and want to thank our fabulous patients, our amazing staff and local businesses for all of their support,” Crinklaw said. “We could not have done it without you.”

JJ Mahoney’s Bryan Streit said that although Hopelink Can Madness always comes at a particularly busy time for the Irish pub, his competitive spirit kicked in this year and he made a concerted effort to reach out to the local community.

“The feedback and generosity from everyone has been amazing,” Streit said. “I love hearing from people how they love what I do to help out such a great cause.”

Hopelink Can Madness is a bracketed competition similar to the national spring college basketball tournament, matching businesses in weekly contests to see which one can bring in the most food. The annual food drive was created five years ago as a way to help offset the traditional decline in donations after the holidays, while enabling local businesses to compete in a fun, friendly tournament. Since 2010, the competition has brought in 91,035 pounds of food and $8,044 in cash.