"WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS..." Team Walker Industries gains support from colleagues and the corporate matching program
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a vision. It is the fuel that propels common people to attain uncommon results.”
Such is the case of Walker Industries and their dedication to an important cause. Cary Clark rode last year’s Big Move Cancer Ride in memory of his friend and Walker Industries colleague, Bob Grimm.
Two years ago Grimm found out he had cancer for a second time. He lost his battle with the disease in July of 2009. “He courageously fought the disease, not complaining and always having a positive attitude,” says Cary Clark of Walker Industries. “When I found out about the Big Move, I decided to do the ride in his memory.”
The Big Move Cancer ride is an annual non-competitive bike ride that raises funds for the future Walker Family Cancer Centre through sponsorship and pledges in support of local cancer treatment. Last year’s event was held on Sept. 20. Shortly after deciding to ride, Clark extended the invitation to all Walker Industry employees to get involved and offer support for the upcoming Big Move. “I sent an email out company-wide telling everyone what I was planning and would appreciate any support that could be provided,” he says. “What ended up happening was that six other employees and four friends joined in to form the Walker Industries Team [of cyclists].”
Over the course of summer 2009, the team organized several fund-raising events, including a BBQ, several 50/50 draws and raffles. The staff donations to the company’s Friday Dress Down Fund were also contributed to the Big Move. “The employees at Walker Industries were incredibly supportive, as they always are when there is a charitable cause,” says Clark.
Once the team’s fund-raising program was in place, they took their cause to the Human Resource Department. The company offered to match the funds raised by the employees. “Not only was this an amazing boost to our efforts, it also provided additional incentive for employees to contribute, knowing their donations would be doubled by the company,” says Clark.
The team trained as a group throughout the summer, meeting once a week to practice their cycling skills.
During this time, Walker Industries was hit with more sad news with the passing of Dave Bratley and Ed Walpole of Norjohn Contracting (a Walker Industries company out of Niagara Falls) who had both succumbed to cancer. “Our dedication was changed from our friend Bob to our three friends Bob, Dave and Ed,” says Clark.
Some good news, however, came in the form of additional corporate matching in early September of 2009. The Shareholdersof Walker Industries decided to match the total amount contributed by both employees and the corporate matching. “Having the support of the Executive Committee and the Shareholders was a very significant part of our fund-raising campaign,” says Clark.
In total, Walker Industries raised $36,455 for the Big Move Cancer Ride with help from the corporate matching program. A 2010 company team has already been organized and they are “looking forward to another successful ride.”
“It was a very emotionally difficult summer of 2009. As a group representing Walker Industries, it means a lot to us to participate in the Big Move,” says Clark. “It was an honour for us to be able to pay tribute to friends we lost.”
By CHASE MOUNTNEY
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IT’S NEVER TOO LATE: Mary Basciano triumphs at The Big Move
Mary Basciano’s journey towards the Big Move was not without struggle.
She began training in April 2009, persevering through physical challenges and uncertainty of her ability to complete the “scary commitment” of the 100K Big Move Cancer ride on Sept. 20, 2009.
The Big Move Cancer ride is a non-competitive bike ride that raises funds for the future Walker Family Cancer Centre through sponsorship and pledges in support of local cancer treatment.
Basciano, 63, of Fonthill, Ont. has witnessed the devastation of cancer first-hand. Her inspiration for participating in the Big Move is personal. She has had many friends and family members battle cancer, some succumbing to the disease and others being left disabled from it. Her inspiration also comes from the many people she has met in cancer care facilities in Canada, U.S and Germany. “A strong desire came from within of what a small role I could play in helping to ease the debilitating trauma cancer patients endure,” she says.
Basciano began training for the Big Move in a somewhat indirect way. At the time, her son had joined the Niagara Home Builders Team spin classes at White Oaks in training for the Ride to Conquer Cancer, which was held in June 2009. Curious to “see what spinning was all about,” Basciano decided to join her son in a class. “I didn’t think I was going to make it out of there alive that night. Surprisingly enough, I did, and I felt I had just climbed Mount Everest,” she says.
She continued to attend the indoor spinning classes, but when the group began to venture outside to train on real bikes, Basciano began to doubt her abilities. “I thought ‘oh boy, I can’t join them outside,’ thinking I will never keep up. I was thinking of the hazards of the road, along with the many other thoughts going through my mind as to why I couldn’t do it,” she says. “I hadn’t ridden a bike for a number of years, although I had a brand new bike in the garage collecting dust and getting rusty.”
Basciano, aware that she was now “hooked” on spinning, decided to put her apprehensions aside and join the group’s outdoor training rides. At her own pace, and with the accompaniment of her son, daughter and son-in-law, she began to grow more and more confident on a bike.
“I started getting stronger and stronger and each time I went out I would push a bit more,” she says.
Basciano began cycling up to four times a week and became a member at White Oaks on May 1, 2009, participating in yoga, pilates and movement classes. It was around this time that Basciano’s daughter suggested the 100K Big Move Cancer ride. “My immediate reaction was ‘are you out of your mind?” she says. “Although, the more I thought about it the more I fantasized of maybe there being a small miracle that I could actually do this.”
For two weeks, she attempted to digest the possibility of completing the 100K. She finally talked herself into registering as a participant. The rest was history. “I trained all summer until the day of the race,” she says. Halfway through her summer of training, Basciano learned that she had inspired her 55-year-old nephew to recondition his bike and hit the road. He became her riding partner for the rest of the training period, taking many rides together until sunset into Port Dalhousie, Niagara-On-The-Lake and other beautiful cycling routes.
“My challenge before the race was to achieve riding both sides of Decew Rd.,” she says. “The evening I accomplished this feat, I screamed so loud with joy that I know everyone living on Decew Rd. must have heard me.”
On the morning of race day, Basciano was overcome with emotions ranging from nervousness to happiness as she registered alongside over 200 fellow participants.
“I knew we all shared the same reason for being there, which had a calming effect,” she says. “Being a total rookie in this environment, I felt like a bride on her wedding night.” Basciano successfully completed the 100k ride. Her daughter, son-in-law and niece rode by her side throughout the entire race, offering a sense of comfort and relaxation.
“After completing the ride, I learned I have more potential than I ever thought possible,” she says. “I feel I’ve grown from such a moving, positive experience. My accomplishment left me feeling exhilarated, peaceful and more complete.”
In addition to overcoming the Big Move, Basciano was the top female pledger, raising $10,600 on her own. “I thought I was going to have a hard time collecting the $500 that every participant needed to register for the ride,” she says. “I was in awe when I started to see the pledges roll in.”
For her pledges, Basciano contacted friends, family, business associates and co-workers both verbally and by email. “I couldn’t believe the response and interest all my donors conveyed,” she says. “This made me feel even more elated as I really felt I contributed to the cause.”
When asked about any advice she would give to those new to cycling who are interested in joining the Big Move cause, Basciano said: “Put all your doubts aside and your best foot forward. Put a training plan in place and join the rest of us on Sept. 12, 2010.”
Let Mary be an inspiration to us all. It’s never too late to challenge yourself and try something new.
By CHASE MOUNTNEY
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One Step at Time: Lynne Corfield’s Journey at The Big Move
Lynne Corfield was not going to let a broken collarbone get in her way. Last year she was determined to complete the 50K Big Move Cancer ride, and that’s what she did, one step at a time. “It was hard,” says Corfield, Rector of St. John the Evangelist Church, Niagara Falls and Archdeacon of Brock. “But I wouldn’t give up. I’m too stubborn.”
The Big Move Cancer ride is a non-competitive bike ride that raises funds for the future Walker Family Cancer Centre through sponsorship and pledges in support of local cancer treatment. Last year, Corfield decided to resurrect her forgotten bicycle and train for the Big Move.
“I bought this bike at a White Oaks auction in 2005. It was just sitting around for a couple of years,” says Corfield. Being an accomplished hiker, Corfield felt that it was her time to “try something different” and began to prepare herself and her bike for the Big Move training rides offered by Louise and Andre Blais of The Club at White Oaks. In preparation for the training rides, Corfield took her bike to get serviced and tuned up. Noticing that the frame was slightly too long for her body, she decided to “ride it once to find out what needed to be adjusted.”
On July 2, 2009 Corfield and her daughter loaded up their bikes and set out to Rockway Community Centre, Pelham for what would be her first and final training ride. As soon as she took her bike for a few spins around the parking lot of the community centre, Corfield could feel that the bike was “a bit too big.” “I did not feel safe,” she adds.
Despite her apprehension, Corfield joined the group of cyclists and began the initial ride. “For the first half-hour it was fun,” she says. “I was really enjoying it.” Corfield’s fun came to an abrupt end, however, when an accidental over-compensation of her bike’s handlebars resulted in her falling and somersaulting shoulder-first into a ditch. “When I went to move my shoulder, I nearly passed out,” she says. Corfield managed to break and fracture her collarbone, resulting in surgery on Aug. 6, 2009.
This accident, however, did not break her motivation to complete the Big Move. Due to the magnitude of her injury, biking the Big Move was now out of the question. Corfield decided she was not going to give up and that she was going to walk the 50K instead. “I was determined to walk,” she says. A week after her surgery Corfield was up and walking, preparing herself for the enormous feat. She continued to raise money through pledges.
On race day, Sept. 20, 2009, Corfield began walking the Big Move at 6 a.m. (three hours early) and by 10 a.m. she had completed 25K. “I was going at a fast pace,” she says. Corfield walked the entire 50K in nine hours, stopping only for 20 minutes.
Inspirational forces helped her find strength to finish the walk. “I carried a list of names and every hour on the hour I prayed for those who had died or who were suffering from cancer,” says Corfield. What kept me going was thinking of these people.”
Corfield’s daughters provided mental support in the form of encouraging text messages. Her close friend, Louise Blais, rode the final stretch with her on her bike. Her daughter also followed nearby in a van. “It was very helpful,” says Corfield.
This year, Corfield will be unable to ride the Big Move due to a previous commitment. She is, however, planning on raising pledges for the Walker Family Cancer Centre in support of her upcoming coast-to-coast hiking trip in England.
By CHASE MOUNTNEY
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