COBOURG, Ont. — The Ontario Trucking Association (OTA) Education Foundation has expressed its sadness over the passing of its former executive director, Bud Barr.

Barr passed away last week. He enjoyed a lengthy career in the trucking industry and was active in developing and running the OTA Education Foundation from 1992 to 2005 when he retired for health-related reasons.

“Bud Barr will always be remembered by those who worked with him during his tenure with the Education Foundation as an individual who took on his position with heart and soul,” said current foundation chairman Scott Smith, of J. D. Smith and Sons. “I think that he really got a kick out of handing out scholarships to students of the Ontario trucking industry, and he certainly wasn’t shy about going after the industry for the much needed donations to fund the scholarship program.”

“This is a sad day for all of us,” added George Ledson, long-term director for the Foundation and president of Cavalier Transportation Services.  “Bud certainly had is heart in the right place, and he really cared about the foundation, its scholarship program, and most of all, the students.”

A funeral mass will be held tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. at St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Cobourg. Donations in his memory can be made to the OTA Education Foundation.