My greatest achievement so far has come most recently. I wrote a blog article about how Winnipeg was naming streets recently after city councilors, school trustees, and other semi famous people that were either born or either had connections to Winnipeg. I wrote that there was one notable exception - Terry Fox.
I wrote that it was strange that we have yet to name anything in the city, or province for that matter, after Terry Fox. I was too young to remember his actual run, but one of my earliest childhood memories was running in the first annual Terry Fox Run, at age 4. I made a case of why Winnipeg or Manitoba should rename a major street or road after Fox, as I consider him a hero to our nation. I mentioned that I had started a petition to rename Winnipeg's Ring Road- the Permieter Highway after Terry Fox.
This resonated with one blogger, with a large following from mainstream media in the city. He linked back to my blog, and soon I was inundated with media requests for interviews. It was a bit surreal. Working in Northern Alberta without cell coverage, as Rogers has yet to build their planned cell tower, I had to answer a few written questions, and submitted them to a couple of the main newspapers, and CBC Manitoba. To my amazement, they all got published.
I have since learned that the Government of Manitoba is considering my request to rename the Perimeter Highway "Terry Fox Drive." Even if they do not decide to rename the highway, I feel as if I made the most of my 15 minutes of fame. On the petition, my blog, and facebook page, I constantly reminded people that the annual Terry Fox Run was coming up in two weeks, and linked to the Terry Fox Foundation website, which is run by one of his brothers.
Last year, only 300 people turned out for the Terry Fox Run in the city. This year, there were approximately 1,000. I obviously don't want to take credit for the large turnout, as so many others were involved in promoting the run. However, I can't help but think of the timing of the articles (last week of August), and the publicity the petition received, may have reminded many that the run was September 15. I was thinking if 1 in 5, of the 700 extra runners (or their family), donated $20 or more for the Cancer research to the Terry Fox Foundation, then as much as $5,000-10,000 in additional revenue could be made toward cancer research.
In summary, even if the Provincial Government does not decide to rename the Perimeter Highway (or some other highway) after Terry Fox, I feel the petition, and subsequent publicity about the original Terry Fox Marathon of Hope has already made a difference, and has been a positive thing for the community. This proves that anyone with a good idea, and has honorable intentions, can make a difference in the community.
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