The 34th Annual Terry Fox Run at Water Valley proved to be our best year ever! We had 70 participants and volunteers come on Sept. 14 to raise an amazing $10,024 in pledges, personal donations and merchandise sold. There are a few pledge sheets still out so it may be even more in the final tally.
Just think that on Thursday morning there was still close to a foot of snow everywhere but by Sunday the roads were dry and the sun shone. Despite another small glitch at about 8 a.m. when there was the pungent odour of skunk permeating everywhere, by 10 a.m. most of the smell was gone.
Snow or skunk did not dampen the mood as families and friends showed up in droves to walk, bike and run the route.
This year there were a number of new participants along with our faithful regulars. Jill and Holly Fisher ran a marathon in Drumheller and hurried back to participate with their family team in our run. Now that is dedication!
We enjoyed barbecued hotdogs and goodies, contributed to the memory board and looked at past run pictures and display items. We are getting quite the collection.
If anyone did not get their 2014 stickers or participation sheet call me (403-637-2458) and we will get them to you. I also have stickers from past years as well. Can't miss a year now that you are started!
The Water Valley EMS crew of Linda, Andrew, Joel, Andrew and Kenny manned the rescue truck and the new fire truck much to the delight of children and adults alike, when they showed off the bells and whistles while patrolling the route to slow traffic and keep everyone safe. No matter how much signage we have, someone gets in a hurry which has been a concern in the past.
The Terry Fox Foundation to date has raised over $650 million for cancer research worldwide with over 9,000 Terry Fox runs each year all volunteer-led and organized, contributing 86 cents of every dollar raised.
Their research projects have benefited many types of cancer projects with early detection and treatments of lung, prostate and ovarian cancers to name a few. New exciting progress is being made in current multi-year studies including lung, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, oral, liver, oncolytic viruses, and more of the 1,152 projects funded to date by the foundation.
Thus I thank our community for their dedication to keep our run in Water Valley alive and growing each year.
This year has been particularly difficult for everyone with hail, wet conditions and snowed-down crops, but did not deter the spirit of the day and once again I am humbled by our results.
Many thanks go out to our volunteers, sponsors of food, hall, expenses, prizes and those donating money to research. This year puts our run over the $110,000 since 1989 and the Cremona School's has raised over $40,000 this year to date going into its eleventh year. We can make a difference.
This year we had more online pledges made at the website www.terryfox.org and the event being posted on Facebook has become increasingly popular.
If you get a moment drop into the site where there are many topics like research news, Terry facts and personal stories and merchandise available.
Want a good read? Terry Fox - His Story by Leslie Scrivener tells of Terry's journey to the Marathon of Hope with a dream to raise a million dollars for cancer research. What a legacy he has created and that his family has striven to maintain with grace and devotion.
Good luck to the schools' Terry Fox runs. You also can donate any time of the year!
Mary Thomson
Water Valley
