Six Vermilion residents will be cycling over 200 kilometers as they participate in the 11th Annual Enbridge Ride To Conquer Cancer from August 17 – 18. Team Vermilion includes Darren Bratrud, Joe Zeller, Scott Webb, Brandon Tupper, Craig Brown, and George Rogers. They held a beer and pizza fundraiser at the Vermilion Heritage Park’s Community Oven on July 4, with net proceeds of $2,235.38. “We had an excellent turn out with approximately 200 people, and we lucked out with the weather. We would like to thank Express Pizza and Prairie Place Liquor for supporting our event,” said Darren Bratrud. The 50/50 winner was James Oberhofer from Marwayne. Oberhofer won $1,873 and donated half of the winnings back to the team. In addition, Rusty Stalwick donated a signed Braden Holtby jersey that the team will use to host a silent auction online. New team member, George Rogers said that he has cycled before and participated in the MS bike ride. Enjoying their training and common sentiment, he went on to say, “It’s the one thing I like to do in the summer aside from gardening. I’m really excited and even though I’ve been in this community for a couple of years now, I’m the novice. Other members of the team include long time locals which helps me to integrate. Wherever I’ve lived, I’ve always tried to be involved in something in the community, for instance, I’m also a Lions member in Vermilion. Aside from my role as CAO for the Town of Vermilion, to be part of a community event is really great for me. I don’t exercise much, but I like to cycle. Cancer is very near and dear to my heart. I lost my sister to cancer in 2017 after she fought a 20-year battle with cancer. Currently, my best friend is on his final journey with metastatic cancer as a result of prostate cancer. There are a lot of great causes, but this one is very personal to me,” said George Rogers. “Riding in a cross wind is the most difficult. There have been days where the wind nearly blew us off the road. As a team we have raised over $27,000 so far,” said Craig Brown. The Enbridge® Ride to Conquer Cancer® Presented by Evraz has raised over $75 million for the Alberta Cancer Foundation since 2009. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, an estimated one in two Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes, and one in four will die from it. They speculate that in 2017, there were approximately 80,800 cancer deaths in Canada. In addition, they say that every day, 565 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer and 221 will die. Every hour, an estimated 24 people will be diagnosed with cancer, and nine will die. In the past year, approximately 103,100 Canadian men and 103,200 Canadian women were diagnosed with cancer – thus totalling 206,200 new cases of cancer. Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and responsible for over 30 per cent of all deaths. The ride supports research as well as enhanced care programs like Patient Navigators who explain how treatment will work and understand additional challenges rural Albertans face with a cancer diagnosis. The Ride also supports patient financial assistance, and patient comfort. You can make donations to an individual or the team online by visiting https://secure.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Ride/Alberta2019?team_id=82070&pg=team&fr_id=1711, or for more information you can visit https://ride.conquercancer.ca/alberta19/.