by Brent Eades
Yesterday’s ‘Paddle for AGH’ event drew an enthusiastic crowd to the banks of the river and raised nearly $16,000 for our hospital.
Billed as a “family celebration combining celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday, paddling the Mississippi River in Almonte, and raising funds for the Almonte General Hospital”, the event saw paddlers exploring the river from the Fairgrounds to towards Appleton, followed by canoe and kayak races and a raft race.
The raft race was a lot of fun. Local teams, sponsored by their supporters, had to assemble their rafts onsite and then launch and navigate them along a course on the river.
Competition was fierce, and for a time it appeared that Town Council’s team had the edge. But in a close finale the Lee Valley Tools team took first place.
Final results
Canoe race:
- 1st: Kirby Koster and Richard Hall
- 2nd: Dominic Dern and John Edwards
Kayak race:
- 1st: Shaun McLaughlin
- 2nd: Josh Piche
- 3rd: Sheila Kelly
Raft race:
- 1st: Le Raft (Lee Valley Tools – Wally Wilson, Jeff Heins, Peter Petrikowksc, Leszek Puchazc)
- 2nd: Mississippi Mud Pies (Councilors John Edwards, Jane Torrance, Jill McCubbin and Amanda Pulker-Mok),
- 3rd: Captain Von Razor (Foundation Board member Julie Munro, Wyatt Munro, Josh Piche and Al Roberts, Managing Director)
Top Fundraising Team – Mississippi Mud Pies
Top Fundraising Individual – Christa Lowry (Part of Mississippi Mud Pies)
Best Raft Design – Lee Valley Tools
Best Costumes – Lifesavers Raft (Four staff from Fairview Manor – Amanda Becking, Karen Buness, Cathy Porteous and Janet Risch)
Below is a little video I took of the day’s events from my kayak, followed by some photos.
VIDEO
Direct video link: https://youtu.be/t5DqbnM8sE4