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Like so many events, the Summerland Festival of Lights had to take a break this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, all of us with the Giants Head Grind and Summerland Rotary want to keep the festival’s spirit alive by bringing some light to this holiday season.

While our future goal is to light up all of Giants Head Mountain and along the Grind Route, we are starting this year in lower town and are lighting the route that starts the event, through Rotary Park and at Rotary Pier.

To help us do this and to support the Summerland Rotary Club and the Giants Head Grind, we hope you will donate to this initiative. Proceeds will go toward our ongoing efforts to raise awareness for Colorectal Cancer and Early Detection in Young Persons as well as Summerland Rotary to assist the District of Summerland with initiatives including Giants Head Mountain.

How You Can Help

You can donate online, or if you prefer, you can mail a cheque made out to Summerland Rotary to the attention of Ellen Walker-Matthews c/o Summerland Rotary at 19218 Lakeshore Drive North Summerland, BC V0H 1Z6. A tax form from the Summerland Rotary will be forwarded to you for your contribution.

We hope you will help us Light up the Grind this holiday season in memory of so many that have struggled due to cancer.

To our wonderful Giants Head Grind Racers, Volunteers, Sponsors and Supporters,

After evaluating several potential options and reviewing all available information related to the COVID-19 crisis, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 7th Annual Giants Head Grind – Christopher Walker Memorial Race, scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2020.

For those that have already registered for this year’s event, we are providing the following three options for managing your 2020 registration:

1. Move Your Registration to Saturday, May 22, 2021

Now named, the 7th Annual Giants Head Grind 2.0, next year’s race is scheduled for Saturday, May 22, 2021. We would love it if you decided to move your current registration over to this new date. Our normal cancellation policies will remain in place, so should you find this date doesn’t work for you next year, you’ll have up to April 1, 2021 to change your mind.

2. Convert Your Registration to a Donation

For those of you who would like to donate your 2020 registration fee toward our ongoing commitment to supporting colon cancer detection, diagnostics and research, and the upkeep and improvement of Giant’s Head Park, we will arrange a tax receipt for you.

3. Obtain a Full Refund

While we hate to see you go, we also understand that some of you will need to cancel your registration for a full refund. We will definitely honor this request in the hopes that you’ll re-register again in 2021!

To indicate which option you would like to take, please click on the following link and complete the 2020 Registration Cancellation form.

Some things to note:

Summerland Waterfront Resort remains open to support their long-term guests. If you have an existing reservation and are are able to travel by then, they would love to welcome you! However, if the current circumstances continue and you cannot be in Summerland, please contact the hotel directly to cancel your booking.

Wishing you health and safety as we navigate these most unusual circumstances, and thank you so much for your continued support.

As we prepare for this year’s 6th Annual Giants Head Grind – Christopher Walker Memorial Race I will never forget the reason this race began. Losing, our son Chris to Colorectal Cancer, our otherwise healthy, fit, world by the tail child, to this dreadful disease carries heartbreak and heartache that never ever takes a time out. 

But I will also tell you that every participant, volunteer, sponsor and supporter of the Giants Head Grind helps to soothe the sadness in ways that words will never describe. You, taking the time to join us in whatever way you can is something extraordinary and a gift that we are more than grateful for. Our family does this event in Chris’s memory, but everyone has their own reason to take part. Whether supporting someone currently living with cancer, celebrating with those that have left cancer behind or remembering those that are gone too soon, this race is your race. Thank you, thank you, so very much. 

One of our goals is to continue to raise awareness of Colorectal Cancer in all persons, but particularly in younger people who, until recently, were not considered to be likely candidates for this type of cancer. With the permission of Barry Stein, President and CEO of Colorectal Cancer Canada here is the most recent update on early detection tests for a type of cancer that is not widely talked about but is taking far too many far too soon.

In the area of early Detection of Colorectal Cancers, …things are happening, but they are happening far too slowly.

The Colonoscopy remains the Gold Standard for actual confirmation of what is really happening in your colon. Without question, it is an invasive procedure and difficult to get unless you are presenting specific symptoms or are in a high-risk group. 

While it is clear that early detection is critical in saving lives for those with colorectal cancers it is the hope that less invasive tests more easily administered will be the answer.

There are some promising tests on the horizon according to our friend and Colon Cancer survivor Barry Stein. Barry is the President and CEO of Colorectal Cancer Canada and has been outspoken on the need for early detection in Canada for several decades now. 

A number of blood tests have been developed which Barry refers to as “Executive Tests”; they are costly and as yet don’t have clinical trial back up. Of course, the FIT Test, which has been used for several years, is a well-regarded option and while is an easy test to take at home, it is still difficult to convince most general practitioners to order this test without plausible cause. In the US there is also a DNA test that is covered by some insurers and promoted by an organization called Exact Sciences. In all of these cases, a positive result means a colonoscopy, which, while invasive is the only way to make positive confirmation of the presence of cancer.

In Alberta, a new urine test developed by the late Dr. Fedorek appears to be gaining attention, however much more data is still required before it may become widely available. 

Early detection is critical, it is the key to saving lives and it is through easily administered tests such as the ones noted that it is hoped more individuals will know much sooner, they are, in fact dealing with colorectal cancer and be in a better position to fight and win. 

We are climbing the Giant May 18th in an effort to ensure more attention is brought to finding and fighting Colorectal Cancer Early, preventing life-ending diagnosis and saving lives old and young. But, we are climbing a bigger Giant everyday as we continue to push for more and better screening to stop colorectal cancer dead in its tracks.

Start gathering your old papers, bills and confidential documents that you no longer need and bring them to the Summerland Credit Union this Saturday, May 11 from 9am – 12pm. They will shred everything for you in a safe and secure manner (limit 4 boxes per person). Full details below.

Donations will be collected for the Giant’s Head Grind!

Sponsor Highlight: Finley & Associates

It was on her first days of Grade 10 at Henry Wise Wood High School in Calgary, that Ellen Walker-Matthews, organizer of Giants Head Grind, met Donna Finley. Little did the two young women know, that what began as a strong and immediate friendship would continue for more than 40 years and endure marriages, children, divorce, long distance… and more.

In 2014, Donna participated in the very first Giants Head Grind. She has been part of the event ever since.

Donna’s commitment to the Giants Head Grind came not only because of its cause – to raise funds for Colon Cancer detection, diagnostics and research and to support the continued upkeep and improvement of the trail system in Giants Head Park – but also because of her desire to support her closest friend after the loss of her son. In 2016, Donna brought her eldest daughter and business partner Rebecca Finley-Schidlowsky to Giants Head Grind. After an incredible weekend, the two women knew that it was an event their company wanted to throw their support behind. Last year, Finley & Associates sent several members of their team from Calgary to participate in the race and raise funds for the cause. They also came on board as an official sponsor.

This year, we are thrilled to announce that Donna and Rebecca are bringing the entire Finley & Associates office from Calgary for this special weekend, and have come forward as significant event sponsors!

It is through this kind of ongoing support that we can continue to host the Giants Head Grind and raise awareness and funding for early detection of Colorectal Cancer. Our wholehearted thanks goes out to all of those at Finley & Associates, and in particular to Donna Finley and her family, who are taking the time to travel to Summerland in May to participate in the 5th Annual Giants Head Grind.

For more information about how Finley & Associates transforms organizations and their leaders through a strategic, candid and empowering approach, go to www.finleyandassociates.com. Or look for their entire team at the Giants Head Grind in May!