Nearly $25,000 was raised the old-fashioned way in downtown Kingston on Sunday as 11 teams dragged a hulking Kingston Fire & Rescue fire truck in the blazing sun, all for a good cause.
Competitors from 11 teams took turns pulling a fully-loaded water pumper fire truck 100 feet on the street in front of Kingston City Hall. The 100-foot distance was symbolic of the one in 100 individuals in Canada who suffer from epilepsy or other seizure disorders.
On Sunday, under sunny skies and with the temperature hovering in the mid-20s, competitors dug their heels in and pulled, pushed, scraped and battled the heat as they dragged the 37,000-pound fire truck along Ontario Street at the foot of City Hall in support of Epilepsy South Eastern Ontario’s 11th annual Pull Together for Epilepsy fire truck pull.
“Strong people stand up for themselves, but the strongest stand up for others,” said Sadie Augustyn, who was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 10, to open the event. “To the teams pulling today, our volunteers and our staff, you are among the strongest. If you need to put a face to your dollars you have generously collected for this event, I am it. You will never know the true impact you are having on others, but please know that I and the board of directors, do, and we thank you.”
When the dust settled, $23,961.40 was raised through the event, which saw its defending winning, Chelsea’s Champions, once again overpower the competition. The group not only was the overall winner, it also took home bragging rights for the fastest pull (22.7 seconds) and the team spirit award honours. Ember Avengers took home the honour for most funds raised, an impressive $4,900.
Eric Holland, event co-ordinator for Epilepsy South Eastern Ontario, beamed as he and a team of purple-clad volunteers and organizers watched the event unfold on Sunday, some three months of work in organizing it now in the rear-view mirror.
“We had one of our community members step in to emcee today, which was really nice,” he said, noting some last-minute scrambling was done following last week’s job cuts at Corus Entertainment.
“We’ve already raised $21,000 at midday,” he said prior to the event’s official start. “I’m very excited. We’ve already surpassed our goal. I’m just happy, I’m just watching everything unfold around and feeling the happy times.”
One by one, teams took turns dragging the pumper truck the 100 feet as hundreds of onlookers and supporters cheered from bleachers the City of Kingston installed on Ontario Street for the event. This year’s teams included firefighters, Kingston Police officers, a team from Novelis, Kingston General Hospital, Grizzly Gym and others. Competitors wore super hero costumes, purple tutus, cowboy hats, custom T-shirts and huge smiles, along with a look of determination as they helped raise money for the cause.
Sweat running down his forehead, Holland was all smiles when asked how he felt now that the big day had arrived.
“I’m feeling good and very blessed and grateful,” he said. “I think we couldn’t have done this without a lot of our community partners, without the City of Kingston, without Kingston Fire & Rescue and I’m just counting my blessings right now. I’m just going to see the rest of this day out and go home with a smile on my face.”