Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I would like to congratulate the residents of Hay River and the organizers of what I believe has been the largest fundraiser ever to take place in Hay River. I’m referring to the Relay for Life, which was held in many communities across Canada June 13.
The 12-hour walk for cancer was a celebration of survival and a tribute to the lives of loved ones who have been touched by cancer. There were 38 teams involved, with four out-of-town teams from Fort Smith, Kakisa, Yellowknife and Fort Providence.
Over the past few weeks people raised money by having garage sales, bake sales, dances, silent auctions, bottle drives, penny drives and by selling cancer bracelets and getting pledges, and the list goes on.
Hundreds of people gathered on the track of the Diamond Jenness School last Friday night. They brought their lawn chairs and sleeping bags and pitched their tents for the night. People had their heads shaved for donations; teams sold items such as food, balloons, plants; and you could even buy a ticket to win a pair of diamond earrings.
The walk started with a victory walk of 29 Hay River cancer survivors plus one cancer survivor from each of central Alberta and Yellowknife. Each team had a walker constantly on the track from 7 in the evening until 7 in the morning. At midnight 755 candles were lit in memory of the friends and family who had lost their fight with cancer, and in honour of those who are still fighting this disease. This ceremony was very moving, and more than a few tears were shed.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to advise that although unofficial, the donation to the Canadian Cancer Society from Hay River, at last count, was at $195,000 yesterday, and money is still coming in.
They should reach the $200,000 mark. It was predicted that for a community the size of Hay River, they might have raised $66,000. In terms of community size this donation is unparalleled across Alberta. Hay River raised more in the Relay for Life than did Edmonton, Calgary or Fort McMurray. As you can see, they went above and beyond their wildest expectations.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the Hay River Lions Club and the numerous volunteers who rose to the challenge of organizing this event. I would like to mention a few people who really made this possible through their efforts: Shari Burnstad, Shirley Sloat, Diana Field, Melvin Larocque, Ronnie Shaw, Diana Ehman and Pat Burnstad.
Many thanks to the 38 teams that participated in the relay, and a heartfelt “thank you” to the people of Hay River who contributed in so many ways to reaching this incredible goal and this outstanding success in the fight against cancer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Applause.
Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. The honourable Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.
