Cybele NegrisThank you to all those who participated, volunteered and came out to Saturday’s Canary Derby at Deer Lake Park. With the weather reports calling for rain all week, we didn’t know how the event would shape up, but the skies parted and we ended up having gorgeous summer weather for what turned out to be an amazing day of soapbox car racing!
I would also like to thank our exceptional pit crew Mathieu, Rami, Max, Adrien, Steve and especially to Hannah our fearless driver (bruised spine and all!). That fist up in the air as she crossed the finish line will be etched in my memory forever. Webnames.ca took 3rd place out of 14 teams at the Canary Derby this year, beating out the SFU Mechatronics team, the Telus (built also by Mechatronics) team and Rogers, who had their soapbox car designed and/or built (at least in part) by the local Vancouver Porche dealership. Porche, you may want to think about sponsoring us next year instead!
Our success at the 2010 Canary Derby would not have been possible without all of people supported our fundraising initiatives this year, helping to put our Webnames.ca team at the top of the fundraising category for a 3rd year in a row. Beating out larger companies like Telus and Rogers, Webnames.ca passed its goal of $15,000 to raise an impressive $16,000 plus for the cause!
Thank you to our generous top donors/supporters:
Amuse consulting
Borden Ladner Gervais
Canadian Internet Registration Authority
Edigx Conference
E-xact Transactions
Miles Employment Group
McNeill Nakamoto
October 17 Media
Rami Films
And the Webnames.ca Fundraising team:
Tamara Brooks
Brenda Cadman
Andre Darche
John Demco
David Hall
Julianna Horvat
Garrett Saundry
Lindsay Smith
Stephen Smith
Adrien Trumpy
Hannah Wise
All of the funds raised go to support the Canary Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the goal of identifying cancer early through a simple blood test and then isolating it with imaging.
As well, I cannot forget those who stayed behind to lend a hand in breakdown and cleanup. I saw Julianna and Hannah stacking the tires that lined the racecourse and I worked hard with John, Mathieu and some others in putting away the tires and fencing. By the end of the event we were not only exhausted, but also covered in dirt, grime and soon to be nursing sore muscles.
We were lucky enough to have Rami Films out filming again this year, so be on the lookout for photos and video coming to our Facebook and YouTube pages soon. Thank you Rami for filming the event and I can’t wait to see the great images you were able to capture!
For those who are interested in the final results and how everyone placed in the various events on the day, here they are:
Canary Style/Obstacle Race: Team Xomo & Big Green placed first with their Top Gun inspired car. The fly boys performed a classic rendition of “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling,” giving Goose and Maverick a run for their money. Placing second was The Waterboys from Aquatic Informatics with their larger than life aquarium. Team Telus placed third with a great showing of fans and support.
Canary Speed Category: The Waterboys defended their championship and placed first with a time of 36.26 seconds; Highway to HTML from Work at Play placed second with 38.14 seconds; and a very close third went to Webnames.ca with 38.20 seconds.
Top Fundraiser: That was us! Webnames.ca brought in $16,701 through team fundraising and corporate sponsorship. Telus raised $9,000 thanks to their team fundraising and corporate sponsorship. Aquatic Informatics raised $5,285, raising funds up to the last minute in the parking lot. Great effort all around!
I hope all of you had a wonderful time because we’re going to do it again… only bigger and better next year!