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Lampman resident excited to ride with Prairie Women on Snowmobiles

Brittany Fox can’t imagine a better way to get a head start on her 30s than by participating in the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS). Fox is one of 10 women from across the province selected for the PWOS’s Mission 2019, which will run from Feb.

Brittany Fox can’t imagine a better way to get a head start on her 30s than by participating in the Prairie Women on Snowmobiles (PWOS).

Fox is one of 10 women from across the province selected for the PWOS’s Mission 2019, which will run from Feb. 2-9, and visit communities through the province. The last day of the ride is the day before she turns 30.

The Prairie Women raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society, for fight against breast cancer and other forms of cancer.

The mission is something Fox has wanted to do for a while, but each time she went to apply, she backed off. But she wanted to do it before her 30th birthday.

“I thought this was the year. It’s a big year, and I didn’t want to put it off any more,” said Fox.

The PWOS is an organization that she has always looked up to, and wants to be a part of. This will be their 19th Mission ride.

“As everyone knows, cancer affects almost every family in one way or another, either through a friend or a family member, and I just thought it would be an amazing experience to be part of such a great organization,” she said.

She’ll be riding for her grandfather, who died due to cancer when she was 19.

“He fought a hard battle with cancer, so when it was something that I knew I could make a difference for, and hopefully the struggle for other families that were going to go through battles with cancer, I just thought I would love to be part of the difference for that, raising money and awareness,” said Fox.

Fox and her partner Damon Sutherland are avid snowmobilers. They don’t have a lot of snow around southeast Saskatchewan a lot of years, but they go to Fernie, B.C., each year for a week of snowmobiling. They’ll also go to the Hudson Bay area.

But she has never embarked on a ride like the PWOS Mission 2019. The most she would typically ride in a day is about 50-100 kilometres. The Mission will see her ride 1,500 kilometres, or about 200 kilometres per day.

To be part of Mission 2019, Fox had fundraise at least $3,000.

She also sold a sponsorship wrap for her snowmobile by approaching businesses in the area. All money from the sled wrap went to breast cancer research and equipment. It proved to be her most successful fundraiser.

A steak night was held in late October that also proved to be successful. 

She also sold decals that could be placed on vehicle windows, beer fridges and elsewhere, and she held an alcohol basket raffle. She also received donations from people and businesses in the Lampman area.

Fox raised a total of $12,518.81.

“I never thought I would get there. We were expected to raise $3,000; I was kind of hoping for $5,000 to $6,000, so I more than doubled my expectations. The support from the area, from my family and friends and the businesses, was more than I could have hoped or dreamed of.”

Fox, who is the recreation director in Lampman, has witnessed the generosity of the people of the Lampman area first hand on many occasions since starting at the job in March 2016. She was also born and raised in Manor, giving her other opportunities to see how southeast Saskatchewan residents get behind a cause.

Before embarking on the ride, Fox needs to make sure her sled is ready to go and her gear is in good shape. She is taking a week of holidays from work, so she will have plenty of work to do, especially since the winter sports season in Lampman is usually very busy.

“Mentally and emotionally, I guess I’ll have to start preparing for that. It’s going to be a great adventure, and they say there’s a lot of tears and a lot of emotions and great experiences that will come out of this.”

Fox has had two meetings with the PWOS regarding what she can expect from the experience. President Kelly Kim Rea and some of the board members helped brace Fox for what she would experience.

“Every one’s experience is different, and for every location that we go to and have our pinning ceremony and our get-togethers, they want us to know what to expect,” said Fox.

Fox has also met up with Janis Stanley and Alison Taylor of Carievale, who are also on this year’s Mission ride. Fox said they have done very well with fundraising, and are getting excited for the mission.

(A future edition of Lifestyles will have more on Stanley and Taylor’s participation in the ride).

Fox is also thankful to her partner for his assistance and patience during her fundraisers. He’ll take her to Meadow Lake for the start of the ride, and will pick her up after the finale in Prince Albert.