By Lyonel Doherty
Most people know of someone whose life was taken by cancer, and September 17 will be a good day to remember them in Oliver.
That’s when the Terry Fox Run will be reborn thanks to volunteer organizer Everett Baker. And he’s not even from Oliver.
The funeral director from Grand Forks, and president of the Liberal riding association, is giving it his all to make the Terry Fox Foundation proud.
“I’m excited to see what we can do,” said Baker, who calls Oliver his second home.
The community hasn’t had an official Terry Fox event for several years, and Baker thought it didn’t seem right not to have a run since cancer research is so important.
In his profession, Baker has seen what cancer has done to families in Grand Forks, and he notes that Oliver is not immune to the heartbreaking impacts.
The foundation put a call out to municipalities to see if anyone would step forward to organize the annual fundraiser. When Baker saw that nobody was willing to do it in Oliver, he put the organizer hat on.
“It just seemed like the right thing to do.” Baker is hoping to attract 75 people to the run, which starts at Lion’s Park at 1 pm. (Registration begins at 12:30 pm.)
The run is open to anyone who can walk, run, or cycle on the hike and bike trail (north) to the second drop structure and back.
Baker has invited local dignitaries to take part in the event that brought the entire country together 37 years ago when Terry started running across Canada. Baker encourages local residents to pick up pledge forms from Oliver Parks and Recreation or register at www.terryfox.org.
