Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
It isn’t every day pink fire trucks parade through Fairbanks Park.
“We just wanted to come and see it,” Captain Mike Duckworth of the Jasonville Fire Department said. Duckworth and his wife, Karen, sat inside the Lions Club Shelter alongside a sparkling Wabash River. A cool breeze cut through the warm September air Thursday afternoon, as Duckworth pointed toward the sound of whirling sirens, noting his department donated a truck to Terre Haute’s “Pink Heals” tour, part of the ongoing fight against breast cancer.
Hundreds packed into the park beginning at 4:30 p.m., as a parade of pink fire trucks drove into the facilities. Games, food and live music were all on tap for a night of awareness and fund raising. Cook-N-Blues, the band headlining the night’s event, hit the stage at 8 p.m., playing a tribute to band member Mark Cook’s mother-in-law who succumbed to breast cancer in 2005.
Duckworth himself noted that cancer has touched both sides of his family.
“Her grandma and grandpa both had it. And I had an uncle and an aunt,” he said.
David Graybill, founder of the Pink Heals Tour, was up on the hill above the outdoor stage, organizing the fire trucks into a line. A former professional baseball player with the Montreal Expos, California Angels and Seattle Mariners, Graybill is also a 20-year fireman based out of Phoenix. The tour of pink-clad first responders he founded three years ago has grown into a 4,000-community program, raising money through activities, and awareness through information and educational materials.
“We have 23 trucks now,” he said of the hot pink fire trucks with signatures adoring all sides. The trucks were driven and accompanied by firefighters, who also donned pink uniforms for the cause.
Donna Mansard, administrative director of oncology services at Terre Haute Regional Hospital, helped set up a tent by the stage to represent the facility’s cancer center. “Our hospital is here to serve the community, and that’s why we’re here to support this fundraiser,” she said, noting part of the proceeds went to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation. But more than just a job, Mansard explained, her own sister died of cancer recently at the age of 46. “So this is a passion of mine,” she said.
Terre Haute Fire Department Chief Jeff Fisher noted it’s difficult to find someone untouched by the disease. “Cancer, that ‘C’ word. It affects everybody,” he said, rattling off a list of city employees, as well as his own father, who died from pancreatic cancer four years ago. “It hits close to home,” he said, preparing for a turn in a dunking booth.
The Pink Heals tour is crossing the country to demonstrate support for the fight against cancer. The group’s schedule and more information is posted on its website, www.pinkheals.com.
Terre Haute firefighter Glen Hall of Local 758 spearheaded the effort to bring the tour to Terre Haute. Kokomo was the only other Hoosier city toured this year, he said. “Actually, I got the idea out at Las Vegas a couple years ago,” he said, explaining he was there for a training program and noticed the T-shirts and literature. Last year he visited the tour as it came through Hamilton County. “It’s a great program,” he said.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
More info
• For more information on the Pink Heals Tour, visit www.pinkheals.
com, www.pinkfiretrucks.org or e-mail info@pinkfiretrucks.org.
