VIDEO: 10th Annual George E. Smith Memorial Fire Truck Pull Raises Over $75,000 to Date on Saturday

It was also announced Saturday that starting with the 2025 event it will be renamed the Paul F. Fournier Memorial Fire Truck Pull, honouring another huge Y  supporter!

Brockville – The 10th annual George E. Smith Memorial Fire Truck Pull raised $75,000 and counting for the YMCA of Eastern Ontario on Saturday, October 19th at the Brockville Y on Park Street as donations are still coming in.

Video News Story Below:

The annual event hosted by Burnbrae Farms and the YMCA of Eastern Ontario saw twenty teams of eight compete to see which one can pull a fire truck the fastest.

This year once again the winning team was the Brockville Fire Department with a time of 26:56. The New Terra team came in second with a time of 27:42.

“As of this event, we have raised a total of $75,000 and we are confident that we will meet our goal of $110,000 over the next few weeks,” said Rob Adams, the chief executive officer of the YMCA of Eastern Ontario on Saturday.

The event raises funds for the YMCA’s financial assistance program that provides support to those in our community who would not otherwise be able to access the Y’s healthy and inclusive programs and services.

The money assists one in four people who access the Y and one in three kids who go to the YMCA’s summer camps.

Saturday’s event also featured live music from the Gananoque area band Sweetleaf and a BBQ courtesy of Brockville Hyundai.

For a second year in a row, there was a local Mayors team that competed featuring Brockville Mayor Matt Wren, Prescott Mayor Gauri Shankar, Elizabethtown-Kitley Mayor Brant Burrow, Edwardsburgh-Cardinal Mayor Tory Deschamps, Leeds and The 1000 Islands Mayor Corinna Smith-Gatcke, North Grenville Mayor & United Counties Warden Nancy Peckford and Augusta Deputy Mayor Adrian Wynands.

The YMCA recognized George E. Smith’s lifelong contribution to the health and wellness of the Brockville and area community by naming the event the George E. Smith Memorial Fire Truck Pull for the last 10 years.

Smith a former Brockville Mayor was a long-time volunteer at the Y, as a chair and president of the Brockville and Area YMCA Board of Directors, as a committee member helping to raise funds for a new Y building, and as a member and chair of many annual giving campaigns. He was named the YMCA Volunteer of the Year in 2008, receiving the Dr. Stanley “Y” Values Award.

At this year’s event, it was announced they will be honouring another large Y supporter starting with the event in 2025, naming it Paul F. Fournier Memorial Fire Truck Pull with the endorsement from the Smith Family.

The Fourniers also had a team competing in this year’s Fire Truck Pull.