Okotoks and area residents once again showed their drive to help.
The Rally 4 Hospice was a sell out with 92 vehicles and 200 people involved on Sept. 12. The only thing more spectacular than the scenery for the drivers, was that they helped raise what is likely more than $100,000 for the Foothills Country Hospice.
“The feedback was extremely positive,” said Stephanie Barnes, the hospice’s fund development officer. “They said the rally route was a blast, the drive-in aspect was great, the food was great…”
The rally is the hospice’s largest fundraiser of the year. This year, because of COVID-19 protocols, the festivities ended outdoors at the Sunset Drive-in in High River where vehicles were parked safely apart to follow safety guidelines.
It meant for a unique auction for auctioneer Bill Brown.
“He said this was the first time he had ever done a live auction at a drive-in in the dark with horns honking for the bids,” Barnes said. “It ended up working quite well.”
The rally had drivers following a route across the Foothills and area, hitting checkpoints and answering skill-testing questions.
It was won by Ron and John Adams. Close behind were Matt and Jessica Secord.
“Fantastic, good turn out, good cause,” Matt said. “We were after 4 p.m. when we made it to the air museum in Nanton, and we didn’t answer some of the questions because the museum was closed.
“We had to do that online. We will be back again next year.”
The evening was capped off with a showing of Gone In 60 Seconds starring Nicolas Cage.
The Foothills Country Hospice has a budget of approximately $3-million a year. Of that, 57 per cent is covered by Alberta Health Services. The remaining 43 per cent, about $1.3 million must be raised by the hospice.
For more information on the Hospice click here.
Italics change due to mistake in article
