When we think of fire engines, we think of fire engine red. But on September 27th four fire trucks will be arriving in Sarasota that are pink. And they’ll be manned by firefighters in pink. That’s right, pink.
These brave firemen are here for a very special cause – to help raise funds for local organizations that provide support for women battling cancer. You won’t be able to miss them because they’ll be staying at Sun-N-Fun the nights of the 26th and 27th. We couldn’t be happier that they’ve accepted our offer of lodgings and a place to park the trucks before and after they head into the community on their mission.
The trucks and firemen are part of the Guardians of the Ribbon Pink Heals Tour. Operated by firemen in pink uniforms, and aided by local firemen, police and politicians, they visit various cities around the country, using the trucks as the centerpiece of their fundraisers. All of the money raised at the events by these great guys will go to our local chapters of the American Cancer Society, the Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure, and Team Believe. It’s all intended to help children and women like one-year old Lilly Murphy, who has an extremely rare form of cancer behind both her eyes, and long time Sun-N-Fun resident Carol Williston, one of many Sun-N-Fun breast cancer survivors. We told you about them in our April and June newsletters respectively.
The pink fire trucks tour is the brainchild of Glendale, Arizona fireman Dave Graybill. Graybill’s message is simple, “We as men in this country honor our women and at the very least will wear pink in support of their fight against cancer, all cancer.”
Two years ago, Graybill bought a fire truck on eBay, had it wrapped in pink, donned pink gear and drove to 32 cities across the country to rally support for breast cancer survivors and research. He raised money by selling pink t-shirts and getting people to sign the truck with messages. His effort has grown every year since and now there are pink trucks visiting nearly every state in the union. There are even plans underway for the first of what the organization hopes will be five pink fire stations across the country.
Leading the charge here is new Fire Chief, Kenneth Ellerbe, who learned about the event from members of Team Believe. “Cancer touches a lot of people directly or indirectly. And 5% of Sarasota’s firefighters are women – more than the national average,” the Chief says proudly. “So it’s particularly important to us and why I wanted our department to be a part of it.”
The Chief, who came to Sarasota from Washington, D.C. a year ago, was drawn here by what he felt was a strong sense of community spirit. “I could tell from my first interactions with people that the people of Sarasota care for one another and treat each other with kindness.” He hopes that spirit will be on display for this event.
The pink fire trucks will travel down the east coast of the state and then come up the west coast, holding events in thirteen different cities. Right now, the Chief’s plans are for a parade to greet the trucks as they head down Fruitville Road on their way to Main St. From there, the trucks will disperse to various locations around town, where they’ll sell t-shirts, mugs and paper ribbons for people to purchase and demonstrate their support. That night, there’ll be a celebration for the visiting firefighters, organizers and anyone else who would like to attend.
The Chief, like so many of us, has personal reasons for getting involved. In addition to being the father of a young woman in her twenties, he helped see a friend through the process, from the mammogram and discovery of a tumor, a double mastectomy, chemo and finally recovery.
We hope you’ll turn out in force to support those organizations in our community that are leading the fight to find a cure. So come out and buy a pink tee and a ribbon. The team at Sun-N-Fun will be wearing them, because as the tee’s all say, Real Men Wear Pink.
To learn more about the trucks and the tour, link to Pinkfiretrucks.org
