Thanks for 20 years

I am writing to express my heartfelt thanks for 20 wonderful years of outstanding community support for the Terry Fox Run in the Greater Bangor area.

As the [Bangor] run’s creator back in 1982, I feel particularly humbled when I think about all the individuals over these years who have embraced the project and supported it in so many vital and vibrant ways, most especially Glendon Rand Jr., Fred Merriam, and countless members of the Sub 5 Track Club and also Eastern Maine Charities.

I’ve discovered the very special joy and sense of elation that comes with having an idea that has attracted friends and strangers alike to join in and work toward a shared goal. For 20 years we’ve helped to keep the dream alive of a genuine international hero.

We’ve truly followed Terry Fox’s simple blueprint: Run (or jog or walk) and raise money for cancer research. And year after year we’ve discovered many, many local heroes who exemplify the ideals as well as the courage and determination of a Terry Fox. I feel blessed to have known some of these heroes, like the late Beverly Anderson and the late Bill Fox, and I’m inspired as I continue to see heroes like Leona Clapper, Anne Norton, and Betty Herlihy beat their adversities and determinedly return to their active lifestyles.

I was both startled and stunned by three different moments of personal recognition I received at our 20th anniversary event; I probably didn’t properly express my gratitude and would like to do so publicly now.

Sincerest thanks to: Mike Crowley, mayor of Bangor, for the special city council proclamation declaring Sept. 8, 2002, as “Terry Fox Run Day in the City of Bangor;” Danny Lafayette and Peter Daigle, Lafayette Hotels and the Best Western White House Inn in Hampden, for the Terry Fox Award, a plaque we annually present to “an individual who best exemplifies the ideals of Terry Fox;” Ambie Hayes-Crosby and her staff with the breast cancer research project, Nadine Bullion, and CancerCare of Maine, Eastern Maine Medical Center, for their Community Support Award 2002. Thank you, as well, to Gov. Angus King, for the proclamation declaring Sept. 8, 2002, as “Terry Fox Run 20th Anniversary Day” in the State of Maine.

It’s been quite “a run,” for 20 incredible years.

Ed Rice

Orono