Huron Expositor, 2014-09-24, Page 66 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Andy Bader, NI Agency
Jody and Rob
Brown (left), of
Dublin, pose with
James Hope,
of Orangeville
and 519Trucks
Facebook site prior
to a memorial ride
Sunday, Sept. 21
for the Brown's
late son Travis.
More than 280
trucks congregated
in Mitchell and
drove to Dublin
for a fundraising
barbeque for the
Dublin ball park.
Memorial ride remembers fallen teen truck enthusiast
Facebook
page spreads
word through
social media
Andy Bader
QMI Agency
The power of social media,
both in a positive and negative
way, was on display involving a
19 -year-old Dublin teen who
was killed in a single -vehicle
accident this past April.
Travis Brown died after being
thrown from his red Dodge
Dakota pickup on Good Friday
on Perth Line 24 (better known
as the Staffa Road in Hibbert
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You are invited to attend these area churches
ST. THOMAS CHURCH
21Jarvis St. Seaforth
Rector The Rev. Karine Snowdon
Rectory 519-482-9071
Church Office 519-527-1522
Sunday, Sept. 28th
ST. JAMES ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH
WELCOMES YOU
14 Victoria Street, Seaforth
519-345-2972
Sun. Mass 11 a.m.
ST. PATRICK'S, DUBLIN
Sat. Mass 5 p.m.
Sun. Mass 9 a.m.
FR. BRIAN McCOLL
Worship at 9:30 a.m.
EVERYONE WELCOME
BETHEL BIBLE CHURCH
An Associated Gospel Church
126 Main St. Seaforth 519-527-0982
Pastor Mark Kennedy
SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE 11 a.m.
Tuesday Evenings
• Youth Groups -Junior & Senior High
6:30 to 9 p.m.
Wednesdays 7 p.m.
Boys & Girls Club
& Men's & Women's Bible Study
Sunday School for all ages 9:45 a.m.
6.- EVERYONE WELCOME
EGMONDVILLE
UNITED CHURCH
Pastor Steve Hildebrand
Youth Coordinator - Laura Nakamura
WORSHIP
Sun. Sept. 28, 10:30 a.m.
Youth Sunday School @ 10:30 a.m.
Adult Sunday School @ 9:45 a.m.
For more information view our web site
w.egmondvilleunitedchurch.com
wwand Like us on Facebook.
NORTHSIDE
UNITED CHURCH
MINISTER MARY FLETCHER
Welcomes you
Sunday, Sept. 28", 11 a.m.
Guest Speaker: Sandra Cable
Beef BBQ Sept. 24 • 5-7pm.
Contact Bill Campbell 527-1775 or NAPA
Sunday School Nursery Provided
54 Goderich St. W.
(5.519-527-1449 ' '
www.cavannorthsideunited.ca ,
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
59 Goderich St. W. Seaforth
519-527-0170
Rev. Rob Congram
Lorrie Mann - Organist
WORSHIP
Sunday, Sept. 28th, 11:15 a.m.
, All Welcome
Sunday School and Nursery.
ward), between Road 170 and
179. This past Sunday, Sept. 21,
a memorial ride was held
involving between 280-300
pickup trucks traveling from as
far away as Wmdsor.
A month or so ago, Brown's
truck ended up in a scrapyard
down in the Windsor area and a
person posted a picture of the
demolished vehicle on a rela-
tively new Facebookpage called
519 Trucks.
VVithin minutes after it being
posted, a few of Travis' friends
asked for it to be removed, and
it was, and the site's administra-
tor, James Hope from Oran-
geville, not only felt bad about
the post but posted his respects,
not realizing the circumstances
involving the truck and Brown's
death.
"I personally never knew
him, but it kind of really hit a
soft spot in me," Hope said.
Within one hour the site had
approximately 700 'likes' and
people were in boxing' Hope
their stories of Brown.
It was then that Hope got the
idea of organizing a convoy
cruise for Brown - a memorial
ride.
A convoy of pickup trucks -
between 280-300 all told - gath-
ered at the parking lot of the
Mitchell & District Arena and
slowly headed through Mitch-
ell, then south on Highway 23
before travelling past the acci-
dent site, On their way by, all
were asked to honk their horns
in tribute. The ride ended at the
Dublin home of Rob and Jody
Brown where a barbeque was
held with all the proceeds - esti-
mated at $2,000 - going to
improve the Dublin ball park
"Unbelievable," was how Rob
Brown described the scene
Sunday, clearly overwhelmed
by the number of trucks which
attended from as far away as Til-
bury, Woodstock and
Palmerston.
"It was an amazing day," Jody
said Sunday night. "All we can
say is 'wow' what a turnout and
so many volunteers... . it was
truly a day we will never forget.
"We are so blessed to live in
such a community!'
S4
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"I lcnew it was going to be big
but I didn't know it would be
this big," said Brett Rolph, a
friend of Brown.
Family and friends were con-
cerned where all the trucks
would park once they arrived in
Dublin, but the feed mill yard,
the pavilion and the Dublin
streets accommodated the
gathering under clear skies for
the ride itself after a few hours of
rain prior to and again later
Sunday evening.
"It is a great honour for us as
Travis' parents to see people
from so far apart create such an
event to honour our boy," Jody
said.
"That's what Travis is about -
family and friends," she contin-
ued. "Besides his girlfriend
[Kara Woodcock] and his truck
and his family, the next thing he
loved was ball. The park is in
need of a little bit of repairs, so
it's all going to help!'
Hope, 21, formed the closed
519Trucks Facebook group just
five months ago and it already
has more than 6,000 friends.
The group is exclusive to the 519
area code, so has members that
range from as far away as Oran-
geville to Tobermory and Samia
and is one of the largest truck
enthusiast groups on Facebook
in the province.
Hope admitted he had never
organized something this big,
although he did organize a
Jump Start fundraiser for Cana-
dian Tire in London a few
weeks ago which earned $600
and donations to the food bank.
Having never even heard of
Brown, or the accident, Hope
was amazed at how quickly eve-
rything came together for this
ride.
"It's kind of weird how it
came back like that, you know?,"
he said about the inadvertent
Facebook post and the eventual
cruise a fewweeks later.
"I can't believe how many
from this area are part of this...
it's just snowballed," said Jody.