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Strong support shown for John Dolliver Memorial Truck and Car Show

Jun 24, 2018 | 1:37 PM

Despite some heavy rain for part of the day, close to 100 vendors and vehicles were on display during the second annual John Dolliver Memorial Truck and Car Show Saturday.

The fundraising event held at CrossRoads Church sees all proceeds raised go to the John Dolliver Memorial Mechanics Scholarship Trust Fund established through Lindsay Thurber High School and Red Deer Public Schools.

It’s handed out each year now to a deserving grade 12 student attending Lindsay Thurber with a passion for mechanics and named in honour of the late John Dolliver, an 18-year-old student who died tragically in a car crash on July 1, 2016.

 

 

John’s mother Tammy Dolliver says he had just graduated from Lindsay Thurber and wanted to be a mechanic when he passed away, so a scholarship fund was created in his memory.

“John had a first generation Dodge and it was his pride and joy, he always wanted one,” recalled Tammy. “After he passed a way, his friends came to us and said that John had wanted to restore his truck, so his friends all came over and we started restoring it in our garage and our house. In his honour after we restored it, it looked really good so we thought we would take it to some car shows and that’s when we got the idea to have the car show to show everybody the truck and to tell his story.”

She says it’s heart-warming to see how many people come out to show their support for the scholarship and honour her late son’s memory.

“We have some people that came as far as Cold Lake,” points out Tammy. “We have a lot of people from Lethbridge and they actually come for the weekend and they’re staying in hotels and campgrounds here so it does bring some money to local businesses as well.”

Tammy says the family would essentially like people to remember her son for being a compassionate person and to live their lives with kindness while being both giving and also forgiving.

“We had our first annual last year and we award $1,000 annually,” explains Tammy. “We just awarded the second scholarship about a week and a half ago and do this event every year just to keep the scholarship going. Last year we were able to raise close to $11,000 with our first annual and we’re hoping to match that this year if not better.”

This year’s John Dolliver Memorial Mechanic’s Scholarship Trust Fund recipient is 18-year-old Haley Tolland, a recent graduate of Lindsay Thurber High School.

“It means a lot to me because I never expected this to happen,” exclaims Tolland. “Especially being a female in the trade, we don’t really get a lot of recognition. I’m planning on being a heavy equipment technician so I’m planning on taking that course at RDC next fall.”

“It’s really great that I’m able to be here and be a part of this and honour their son for it,” adds Tolland. “It meant a lot to get it and to be here to help them with it.”