Helping to Carry Terry’s Marathon of Hope Forward

Last Sunday, we attended the Terry Fox hometown run, like so many of you! Phoenix returned to this event after being away for a few years, and it was so rewarding to be back. We were honoured with the invite to volunteer at such a meaningful event.

Phoenix has participated in another of Terry’s lasting legacies. Last year our crane was used during the unveiling of the ‘Gateway of Giants’, the Terry Fox sculptures at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre. Being a part of any initiative for the Terry Fox Foundation is so rewarding, so when the organizers of this years run reached out to ask if we could host one of the water stations along the route and bring one of our trucks to help block off the road to keep participants on track and safe, they didn’t have to ask twice!

We were assigned at the Coast Meridian Road and Salisbury Avenue water station, with one of our Phoenix trucks positioned across Salisbury Avenue to help close the intersection. Acting as ‘traffic control’ is not what our trucks typically do. Instead of hauling a load or supporting a construction project, the truck was used as a giant Phoenix safety barrier while thousands of people ran, walked and rolled through Terry Fox’s hometown.

The event organizers had everything covered for the water station – tent, water, cups and supplies – so that our volunteers were there to cheer on participants and hand out water. So that’s exactly what we did. Let’s extend a huge thank you to our Phoenix team because none of this happens without the people who show up. Eric and Michelle were there representing Phoenix and spending their Sunday morning volunteering at the water station. They brought the energy, kept the water flowing, cheered on participants and made the whole morning a lot of fun.

Being part of the Terry Fox Hometown Run feels more personal now that we operate, both our head office and our yard in the heart of Poco. Our yard is at 2650 Pitt River Road sits on Kwikwetlem First Nation land, and our head office is on Coast Meridian Road.

Thank you all for showing up. Thank you to the City of Port Coquitlam for inviting us, to the event organizers, all the volunteers and everyone who helped make this year’s Hometown Run so memorable.

Terry started a marathon against cancer. Millions of us are continuing it.