Prince George, B.C. – The Rick Hansen 25^th Anniversary Relay passes through Prince George today.

Over 7,000 participants from across Canada are walking, wheeling or running in the nine-month, 12,000 kilometer relay that retraces the route of Rick Hansen’s original Man in Motion World Tour. 

Constable Julie Champagne with the Prince George RCMP Detachment is one of the Medal-Bearers for the relay. She was chosen after submitting a letter through an online public contest. The letter was an emotional and inspiring re-count of her life story. She had to cope with the loss of her mother to breast cancer and the loss of her brother to suicide when she was in her early teens. Then in 2007, Julie was diagnosed with a sympathetic nervous system disorder called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). Although this disability has made her unfit for fully operational police duties, she has continued to strive in other areas of the RCMP.

The relay will begin at 4:00 PM at Honda North on 1^st Avenue and make it’s way through downtown Prince George to Civic Centre Plaza at approximately 6:00 PM. A celebration and presentations from Rick Hansen are planned. 

 

Rick Hansen, by the way, will be speaking in the Winter Garden at UNBC at 1:30 this afternoon. Everyone is welcome to turn out and hear what the Man in Motion has to say.  Hansen is also  scheduled to drop the puck at the Spruce Kings  playoff  opening game this evening.