Inspired by the success of OOIDA member Rachele Champagne’s all-female “Convoy for a Cure” in Ontario last fall, trucker Vanessa Ferguson of Prince Edward Island decided to organize one where she lives to raise money for cancer research.
The only problem with her plan was that there are currently only about five female truck drivers in all of PEI, which would have made for a rather “short convoy,” Ferguson said.
The decision was then made to open up the event to anyone who was committed to raising money for cancer research. The Convoy for Cancer is set to roll at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, in Charlottetown, PEI.
Ferguson said she organized the event in memory of her dad, Jack, who died of thyroid cancer in 1995. He was a heavy-duty mechanic for 37 years and taught her everything she knows about trucking.
“Everybody knew my dad. People respected his ability to fix anything and would come from all over to have him work on their equipment,” she said. “This is a great way to honor him.”
She has enlisted the help of the PEI Trucking Sector Council, which is helping to coordinate the event. Heather MacLean, the executive director there, said so far 30 commercial vehicles – including tractor-trailers, buses and some dump trucks and cement trucks – have signed up to convoy on Saturday. Their goal is to raise about $5,000 for the PEI Chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Full Story
© 2009, Truck Drivers News Blog. All rights reserved.
